Board of Education Meeting - June 18, 2026 (Spanish)

001Good afternoon and welcome to this afternoon's regular meeting of the education board. This meeting starts at 5 pm. Roll call, please, Mr. Member Armstrong, Member Garza, Mr. Creenfield present. This afternoon we have no request for comments on the items on the closed session agenda . At this time the table will be removed and the open session will meet at approximately 6:30. Good afternoon and welcome to the regular board meeting. Now we are going to hold the open session, it is already 6:33 and we are going to summarize the normal matters. Sintron will give us an update on the closed session. Thank you, President Garza. The topics discussed during the closed session were pending litigation, the appointment of a director, deputy director, and the evaluation of your presentation, and we took no action during the closed

002session. Thank you. Thank you very much, member Cintrón. Replacement pages for 11.3, 11.4, 5.6, and 12.11 are located on the back table. Vice President Critell will take the oath to the flag this afternoon. Are there any amendments that will be made to the agenda? President Garza, we have an amendment tonight regarding the resolution to order a bond election. The first paragraph of the summary incorrectly states that the election will be held on November 5, 2016. The election date is, in fact, November 3, 2023. This amendment updates the summary to reflect the correct date, the correct election date . Thank you, Dr. Simen. Now is the time for BTA communications. Miss, Mr. Treón. Good afternoon, President Garza, members of the board, Dr. Simen, cabinet, staff and members of the community. Tonight I wanted to start by

003thanking the active table and the negotiating team for having reached or taken into account the alternative agreement. We know that negotiations are not easy, so we appreciate the work with the negotiation team and appreciate the effort to reach an agreement that can be taken into account. We would like to thank the BTE negotiations team for their commitment to representing members throughout the process. At the same time, I wanted to mention some major budget revisions tonight, as it's the time of year to do so, to finalize the budget. And in the general funds, unrestricted resources , section 644,000 in a balance carried over from the previous year 1.37 million a concentration grant 360,000 eh of remaining salary previously for instruction support services something allocated. These are about 2.5 together and the generally restricted funds are about

004140,000 uh from educator effectiveness, 3,000 uh approximately from the remaining instructional materials, and about 500 more or less for the Strong Workforce Program, and about 700,000 for the children's behavior initiative, and in the child development funds we have 600,000, 344 of them uh are going to go this year for the Early Education State program, and about 400,000 for Childcare Home, and all of this in the Child Development Fund is about 3.2 million. I acknowledge that the budget and remaining amounts are part of the budget, but there are significant amounts that were not spent from the previous year. So, since these funds are being passed on next year, we believe that transparency should include not only the resources and total amounts, but also the object codes connected to these expenditures. The public and all negotiating parties

005need to know how they are included and budgeted in the accredited salaries, classified benefits, books, supplies and other expenses. This level of detail matters because it helps everyone understand whether available funds are being used for staff, instructional materials, contract student services , professional development, or operating costs, or so on. So yes, almost 30,000 of the budget is available today, and it's a balance remaining for instructional materials because that 30,000 wasn't spent on instructional materials. So thank you. Thank you, Mr. Jong. Now we have the secretary of the Bellflower district foundation, Janden Evens Parken Janden. Well, good afternoon everyone. As I mentioned, I am Janden Evans, a member of the Belfower School District Foundation. I am here on behalf of President Castellanos. We are looking forward to rotating this honor of addressing the board and bringing

006them updates so that we can be more recognized, not only by the district, but also by the board and the community. Mrs. Castellanos wants you to know that she has had the great honor of participating in the Flores' inaugural race day , where her daughters go to talk about starting a business and being part of community boards such as the PF Community Foundation. She also has monthly meetings with Dr. Simon to keep us all on the same page, and we're going to hold our first board retreat this month, in just a few days, and we're very excited about it. The goal is to review and confirm our mission and vision, our daily processes, and help us with our documents, laws, and finances. We are hoping to create a solid team for next year immediately after

007the retirement. Dr. Simon has requested Guil Castañeda's presence on her behalf at the retreat because he will be in DC with the flowers to accept his award, which is incredible, and we are excited to update the board and the community on the success of our retreat and the next steps with the foundation as well. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Evens. Now we will move on to the report from Superintendent Dr. Simon. Thank you, President García. Good afternoon to all members of the board, staff, families, and community members. What a year we've had! This year the Belf district made great progress in key areas aligned with the goals of the board superintendent. As well as the local control and accountability plan. Fimos 46.15% 15% increase in double enrollment participation with the early college program. He doubled

008his share. Belfeste High School 's second cut early for college where they earned a diploma and also an associate's degree in arts. Uh, advanced classes, double honors registration, participation is solid. And if you don't know, I'll tell you that we are introducing biology with honors and chemistry with honors for the 2027 school year, in addition to also expanding habit to three schools. Well, community family participation flourished, we attracted 217,000 participants and had over 60,000 views. We had several parent workshops, and they participated in community events and we did Make Your District events. I went to over 70 school community events and I'm very proud of that. In the district planning systems, the team made an AI template for the responsible use of technology and we had an approval for the facilities master plan in May

009and made progress on the Medifior sports field. We will have an update, which will be completed in the spring of 2027. Our community learning committee had a great collaborative and instructional practice. Uh, one brilliant moment here is the coalition that developed foundation schemes for the future of the Belf school district, including a vision, mission, and uh a multi- year template. What inspires me most is the spirit of our community, our staff, our families, our students, our scholars demonstrate a great commitment to education. So, now that summer is here, I hope everyone finds time to relax and reflect. Thank you staff for your hard work to our families, for your partnership and to your table, to the table for your leadership. We have much to celebrate and we have very important work to do as we

010prepare for the next school year. We must continue to collaborate and ensure that every student knows their worth. And thank you so much for having such a significant year. I am honored to be in this district and I am very grateful to be a part of the Belfare district and community. Thank you very much, President Garza. Thank you, Dr. Saimen. Now we want to address, we have been asked to do so, the committee updates. Yes, that's right. Yes, that's right. They are the adco committees. Good afternoon. For those who don't know me, I'm the president of COPS, which is California Advancing Pathways for Students, and I have a few updates. We represent California at Skills US, national leadership and skills competition in Atlanta, Georgia. Students Gil Union and Dylan Becerra traveled with Callups to compete

011at the national level and won the California State championship in commercial drone technology. We are very proud of Jolly Luna, who graduated from Belfower High School, who made the difficult decision not to attend her graduation ceremony in order to compete. Calaps congratulates Jilian Idin for representing our organization, her schools, and the state of California with her professionalism, integrity, and pride. He also wants to update some of the summer programs we have coming up . Currently, they include culinary arts, dual enrollment, coffee, arts and morals, coffee and contemporary cuisine at Linguer High School, emergency technician at Summerstard High School, fundamental psychology and helping relationships at Belf Preparatory as part of the mental health worker certificate program associated with Cerritos College, and how to create or build a tiny house that starts next week until July 17.

012We will continue our partnership with the Southeast Los Angeles Workforce Development Board Salco to support the EMT or first aid program. Thank you. Hey, Member Steart, any other committees? Now we'll move on to public comments. Tonight we do need to talk about some topics that are on the agenda and others that are not. We will listen very carefully to every public comment; however, we will not be providing answers during the meeting. The student, a designated representative, will contact the parent, guardian, or community member if the comment requires follow-up. Although these meetings are not public meetings, they are open to the public. Individuals are allowed 3 minutes to give the floor to the board, and we will limit it to 21 minutes in total according to law 9322.2, two, unless the board gives the floor. Can

013we ask Donny Sopen to come forward? Yes, I said it right. Thank you. Board member, I am Donny Sapinson and I am a business representative with Smart Loco 105, which represents thousands of sheet metal workers. Here I want to thank the district for considering a job that puts the community first for construction projects. The commitment is to ensure that taxpayer-funded projects are completed safely, on time, and with a highly skilled workforce. This creates opportunities for local residents, veterans, and apprentices. For local residents, that means a 20-minute drive instead of 2 hours. That means workers can pick up children from school, help them with homework, and even have dinner with them in the evening. Uh, the long haul, the long haul is what I went through working in the fields and many of the members go

014through that every day. This agreement would go a long way toward changing this for the residents of Billflower and its students. On behalf of the metalworkers, sheet metal workers, and members of Local 105, I ask that you approve the Workforce Amendment in the community here. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Sappington. Now we have Ernesto Medrano. Good afternoon, board members. I am the executive secretary of the Los Angeles and Orange County building trades council. I want to vote in favor of the community agreement. I also want to congratulate the staff who worked to negotiate this agreement with our staff. It was a good and fair negotiation. I don't think they'll be disappointed with the result when we can move forward. These agreements can bring in local residents who are given priority to work on their construction

015projects. It won't cost you more because you're already paying the normal salary, but it has a lot of value because you have the most qualified workers who come out of our learning programs, people who work effectively with the fewest workers in a safer and more efficient way. The best training facilities exist where our people can see and apply their skills, but beyond that, you heard before that in our world, members drive 70 miles in any direction to get to work. This will be an opportunity to work locally and spend time with their families and their children, and we have also prioritized veterans from where they live or where they have served. They first did a good job serving their country and we both agree that they should be prioritized to be able to work here

016in the district. We have approximately 24,000 apprentices in our competition. It's the most apprenticeships; we're very serious about training, but we're also going to open up opportunities for youth. Young people will have the opportunity, thanks to this agreement, to apply for our apprenticeship programs because not everyone is going to attend university, and nobody wants to. Not everyone wants to attend university, and given what's happening with artificial intelligence and all that, these are going to be the careers of the future that will be lasting because people who work with their hands are going to be very difficult to replace in the future. I want to ask you to vote in favor of this community agreement. We see this as a partnership. We want to build your facilities, your modern halls so that young people can compete

017in the world and also have the opportunity for you to hire local residents who have the best training in the world. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Madrano. Now Brown Miller can move on. Good afternoon, members of the Board of Supervisors. My name is Ron Miller. I am a member of the Plumbers Union of 78 of Los Angeles, the union. And more importantly, I'm a buccaneer. I graduated in '77. And I went to Ceritos school for one semester. I was one of those guys in community college at that time, I wasn't ready for that. When I became a plumber, I was in the union for 40 years and I retired 5 years ago. I had the building trade training before I retired. The education I received here in the Belfo district. For me, 10 years after

018I went on a journey, I went back to school and got my teaching credential and became an afternoon teacher. These are the things that can happen with this agreement. I did not have this agreement. I started working, I was driving to Los Angeles. In construction, you get up, you drive 50 miles to a work site, but those agreements have the possibility that someone locally here can work on a local project for the time they are building that project. I urge you to vote. Ah, it's a good negotiation and we can get local young people to work on those projects. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Miller. We can have Eddie Alvarez come through. Good afternoon, Madam President of the Board of Superintendent. My name is Eddie, I am the representative of the Building Trades Council and

019I am actually speaking in support of bond 11.1. We urge you to vote yes on the bonus. Let's hope they vote yes on 11.2. 2 and 11.1 will be built with the best trained workers in America, like the two speakers whom I cannot highlight. Thank you and please vote yes on 11.1. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Alvarez. Now to Dr. Robinson. Good afternoon to the Cabinet Supervisory Board . I appreciate the opportunity to address a concern I have, and I know that my statements will be, I have a question. Having had the opportunity to negotiate this year and hearing time and time again how we have zero to offer teachers. We have zero because in 3 years we will be negative in the district. When I came to the agenda this week I was very

020concerned that there were contracts for people that I thought we already had contracts with. I understand that the cabinet is very important, extremely valuable, but I know that they have 2 years left on their existing contracts. My concern is this. Before hiring the superintendent, I had concerns that if we extended the contracts that were going to be under the superintendent, she would n't have the ability to change her own cabinet again. And they told me that progress was made because we needed security, but we did get a superintendent. I don't know, that was from the superintendent. This is the cabinet she has and she wants to continue with it. But there is no information indicating this. I couldn't even find the old contracts for the other people, but there are existing contracts for the cabinet.

021My concern is that we couldn't talk about higher salaries for teachers. They gave us 4% and I appreciate it, but inflation came out to 4.2%. Our highest salary doesn't even keep up with inflation, and they're making decisions that will lead us into this third year where we'll surely be in trouble. I don't know why they don't do it, but we have an assistant superintendent who didn't hold that position. Now we have a position that is extremely expensive to fill with a good person doing a very, very good job, but the cost of that person, when I'm looking at all the lists they're going to fund, in fact fund, I think it's comparable to the Black Hawk they want outside school campuses for security. My concern is why we're moving forward with something so big when

022we haven't even voted on a bond. And I would encourage them, yes, please let the voters decide if they are going to pay you. I'm paying for a community college and the schools now have air conditioning. It's crazy that a school district in this century didn't have air conditioning, but we need a bond here. But before we talk about the money we're going to have, we have to make decisions 3 years in advance. I don't know what we have, we have no opinion, no contribution, but I want to give my contribution because it doesn't seem reasonable to me not to communicate why we are extending the contracts and maybe we are not doing it, but if we make them public, we can both compare them. I'm worried because the things we couldn't do with teachers'

023salaries due to inflation are being used to extend contracts for people who already have them. Thank you, Dr. Robinson. Now we have John Prey. Good afternoon to the board of directors and members of the Champir community, class of '80. Onward Bugs Ceritos College, a trustee. I wrote the PL for the bond at Ceritos school so local people could work close to home and coach their kids to play Little League, like my dad did. My dad worked on mental sheets, just like my grandfather and my uncles. My dad was the Little League coach and we won the Little League championship because my dad could come early because he could leave work early since he worked nearby. I am fully in favor of this 11.1 one project and also of the bond. And it's unfortunate that we

024couldn't start the bonus earlier because people need the job. People need it, and we have that training at Seritos school. I am in favor of that and I don't see a balanced 3-year budget on the agenda. I know the state did a good job last week, but where's our plan when we have a... what did the government say? We're going to have a decrease, and how are we putting things in the budget if we don't have a vision for the next 3 years? But as Dr. Robinson said, we are spending beyond 18 months. We need to have a complete budget to see where we're going to head. I am very disappointed to learn that we are getting ahead of ourselves and need to try a complete scheme to have a balanced budget over the next

0253 years. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Now we have Robert Fernandez. Good afternoon to the members and attendees of Belfar. My name is Roberto Fernández and I am a conduct assistant at Elm Respects. I request that Barano's work be optional instead of mandatory. The school year is mentally and physically demanding, and summer gives us an extended opportunity to recover, rest, and prepare to support students during the next school year. I am deeply concerned about the magnitude of the decision without meaningful consultation with the conduct assistants who will be directly affected as dedicated employees. We deserve the opportunity to have our voices heard before changes are made to working conditions. Decisions that impact our professional and personal lives must be collaborative and respectful of jobs. But beyond that, I believe that representation from the school district

026and the unions is extremely important for the process. Conduct managers need to know that our perspectives and concerns are being advocated and that any proposals affecting our schedules, site assignments, and expectations should be considered in good faith and should have open communication and involvement with the employees who perform these duties every day. I am also concerned about the proposal to move aides to schools every 6 months; building relationships with students, families, and staff takes time, consistency, and dedication. These relationships are sometimes a key factor in helping students succeed both behaviorally and academically. It takes years to make these links and only moments to destroy them. If student success is our priority, we must continuously value having continuous people. I have spent years at Elmstern Elementary School building relationships and supporting students. The connections I have

027developed have allowed me to understand the needs of students and contribute to a positive environment. Frequent resignations greatly affect the support we provide. Therefore, I urge the Belfower district and the union to give us fair representation of conduct aides, to seek our input, and to make certain jobs voluntary rather than compulsory. So let summers be an opportunity for employees to rest and recharge so that we can support students in the best way possible. Thank you for your consideration. Thank you, Mr. Fernández. Now we have two business topics, the presentation of local indications. Dr. Simon, thank you President Garsa. Now I want to give the floor to Ms. Carter so she can give us the presentation on local indicators. Good afternoon. I'm going to introduce our coordinator, Bonnie Tom. She's going to give us this presentation.

028Good afternoon. Thank you, Mrs. Carter. Good afternoon, President of Carsa, members and executive cabinet. Each year, in preparation for the California Dashboard update, local indicators are presented. I will share this information with you tonight. Uh, the State Education Board has set three indicators. First, progress is reviewed each year, then it is shared during board meetings when the EL elcap is approved, and tonight we will complete this requirement. Much of this information was previously reviewed when the cap was presented in May, and finally, the information is published through the dashboard. Please complete all three steps. You will receive confirmation that the standard for this area of ​​the dashboard was met. As seen in the slide above, the State requires certain measures to be met and measured and collected annually. The indicators are supposed to measure the

029performance of a district when they are addressing the eight state priority areas found on this slide. The indicators are grouped into three categories: academic performance, academic participation, conditions and environment. State indicators are represented by the performance color on the California Dashboard and are measured uniformly across the state. The aforementioned indicators are collected and measured at the district level. The number inside the parentheses has a colf that matches the priority area. The first local indicator is school conditions. This priority addresses assigning adequate teachers and access to online curriculum, instructional materials, and safe and clean school facilities . This year, 95% of the teaching staff have accreditations, which means they have valid California credentials. appropriate to their teaching assignment. 5% have partial accreditation, which means they have partially met the requirement. That could be a person who

030has an internship credential. This is a projected figure and the final figure for this measure will be published by the State. Uh, an inspection of the facilities is carried out to determine if the plant premises are in good condition or if they are in need of repair. An inspector visually inspects each building, including bathrooms, to ensure that the school is clean, safe, and functional. 95% of schools received a good rating, which is a rating of 90% to 9. 8.99%, 5% of schools received an exemplary rating, which is 99% to 100%. The difference between the ratings of exemplary and good is 1%. It is very difficult to achieve an exemplary rating. The second priority is academic performance and measures progress in implementing academic standards. We increased the percentage of second-year students who are readers by 3%.

031The next area is the perception of implementation of state standards based on teachers' responses in the ELCAP survey. There was a 6% increase from the previous year. This increase continues to suggest that the increase in professional learning teachers have received has resulted in an alignment with state instructional standards. All students have access to a general studies course, including visual arts, mathematics and advanced language arts and technical information to prepare them for university, but not all are registering for these courses. If we see that there is a small gap in English learners by extending CTE enrichment courses and advanced and honors allotment houses to the secondary level. Those who are English learners are required to take an IL and English class. This doesn't allow them as much flexibility in a student schedule and affects their availability

032to take certain classes. Next year, the counselors will focus on reviewing English appens timetables to identify opportunities for CTE enrichment or higher-level classes as needed. We need to continue the implementation of AVID at the district level. We will continue professional development in the language arts to improve students' English skills. The third priority has to do with family and parental involvement. This indicator is made up of three parts. Build relationships, create partnerships, and seek input. And in the areas for building relationships, parents agree that a high percentage feel welcome to participate in schools, that they are treated with respect, and that the school communicates with them. Next year, the area we will continue to focus on. It is about prioritizing the strengths, cultures, languages, and goals of families and their students. The ELCAP survey and data

033say that they are creating relationships with their families. Parents agree that teachers meet with families to discuss student progress and partner with them to support their students' academic success. This year we focused on providing families with resources and information to help support learning at home. The focus area showed a 6% improvement. In the area of ​​seeking input from families, there was an overall increase in this category, with a high percentage of parents. He agrees that the school encourages them to be active partners in their children's education. Parents also agree that the school actively seeks support before making important decisions and that there is collaboration in designing, implementing, and evaluating family involvement and activities. And we saw an 11% increase in parents who agree that they should be invited to participate in school committees that provide

034them with input. Now, preda six, we are talking about perceptions of safety in school. We have an overall increase in the area of the school environment. A high percentage of parents feel welcome at the school and the staff feel a responsibility to improve the school. In both primary and secondary school, there was an increase in the percentage of students who feel connected to school. Now, parents and teachers strongly agree or agree that school is a safe place for students. Both are elementary and high school students. The percentage of perceived safety increased. This presentation tonight will fulfill the requirement of sharing local indicators during a public board meeting. The next and final step is to publish this information. a California Dashboard. The state will be publicly releasing the dashboard, either on or before October 15. This

035is the earliest the dashboard has been released. It is also important to emphasize that the results of the CAS assessments will also be released on October 15. This will mark the first time that CASP assessments and the dashboard are released at the same time. This concludes the presentation. tonight. So Thank you very much, board members. Questions, comments. I just have one question, one comment. We have priority 4 and c and c are not required for reporting by the districts. It is for charter schools. Thank you. I have a few questions. Again, we have requested that these pages be numbered. In fact, we could list the photos because it's sometimes difficult to get her on the same wavelength as us. First, the basic conditions, the first priority, the 5% difference between accredited staff or teachers, some

036may be internships, they said it is very important or very difficult to obtain. Why is it difficult to achieve? He's talking about the percentage of accredited teachers or whether they can go to the first priority, which are basic conditions. Well, at the bottom it would be easy for you not to see page 5co. Let's go to page five. Hey, exemplary. I know you said it's exemplary because it's very difficult to get an exemplary rating. The inspection is difficult because only 1% of items go from good to exemplary, so there's a 99 to 100% chance it will be exemplary. So any deficiency, maybe there's a stain on the carpet or the ceiling, that lowers its rating from exemplary. Ah, well, well. And you can turn to the next page, page 6. I wonder if the Friday

037memo can give us the last 5 years. I know we're improving, but the 54% of students who are meeting the foundation's reading skills, if we look at the last 5 years, please, the memo from Friday, please, and then we'll move on to page 8, please. Oh, my God. 59% which decreased by 50%. I know we're going to improve this, but he didn't say how he could explain to me how we're going to improve this. We have had , we are having cultural events at the school, they need to be published more generally. So, basically through cultural events. They are cultural events. The director of state and feral programs will work with Dela to get their input on how we can continue, promote, and build those relationships. I think those will all be my questions. Thank

038you, colleagues. I do have a question on page seven, please. It has to do with the barriers to access for English learners. We have identified what the barriers are. One of the biggest barriers is that secondary school students have to take an English class and an art languages ​​class. So we're going to emphasize the importance of reclassification at the primary level so that when a student reaches secondary school they have more freedom to take an elective class, and the advisors will also be looking at the schedules of the English learners and perhaps looking for free times in the schedule to be able to give selective classes to the students. And since we're talking to the students, we have enough counselors to meet the requirement of speaking with each of them one by one. We have

039enough advisors, but what we would be seeing when we are doing data discussions with students, we could see teachers looking at their grades to help students identify how they can improve in the pack to reclassify it. The sooner we can reclassify them, the better it would be for the students. So this is basically going to be counselors and teachers who are going to have conversations like this . So, once the English students start these classes, do we have a plan to support them so they can meet the requirements of this new course? Because it will be much more challenging for them, but how are we going to support them? There is no new course. Ah, we're talking about English learners who are accessing our fine arts courses or CTE courses, or honors courses, things like

040that. Some of the sites do have instructional assistants who do support and continue Glide strategies from fourth to eighth grade, help high school, and also be able to help with professional development for teachers on how to provide those structures. He also mentioned instructional assistants. Those are during school hours, before school, after school. They are during the school day. After school we have our Think Together partners, we have fewer students in middle school than in elementary school and we don't have any in high school, they only go to middle school. The instructional assistants would be on the day. During the day, how will they be able to access instructional assistants if they need support for these courses? Because I know the courses are there, they're not new. But they will be new to English learners who

041will be able to access them, and they are advanced placement courses. Cte are not their normal academic courses. It's something we can definitely investigate further. We are in that space. Our school sites use their helpers in the way they think is best . Perhaps we could support new students in classes who need help, but we're not at that point right now. As soon as you have a plan with your staff, could you please share it with the board of directors so that we can know what specific support is available for English learners? Thank you. Does anyone else have any questions? I have one more question on page nine. Parental involvement. We talk so much about being partners with parents and the community and this page went down a little, there was no change, there was

042one more positive and one more negative of 1%. What are you thinking of improving? I think that this year we have had some parent involvement activities . We've had activities all over the district. We also have the cancer walk, the elementary school exhibition, and the college and career fair. We've had parenting tasks, various activities. I think we need to publicize those opportunities more widely. Similarly, the directors will continue to have coffee with the directors and other open forums where we can attach more information and input from parents. Can you tell me approximately how many parents responded to the survey? The LCAP survey included 800 parents, and the California Healthy Kids survey included 600 parents. Which surveys had these specific questions? Ah, both polls had it. It seems shameful if we're making all these efforts and

043we're still only getting 70%. Perhaps we need to look at the messages we are posting. Thank you, Madam President. Just a quick thing. I can see that the number of students who feel they belong and are connected has gone up 10%. I think it's incredible. What would you say was the reason for that increase and how can we increase it even further? Okay, let me see if I can find that slide. Perfect. Our parents and students have reported that Capturing Kids Hearts initiatives have worked. Let's continue to celebrate our achievements and celebrate beautiful things. Teachers are connecting with students, and students have also reported that they want more activities to bring students together; they want to continue building relationships with their peers, staff, and teachers on campus. They have requested more activities, excursions, and student

044recognition. Thank you for your efforts. I work at Long Beach City College and 3 years ago I think we had 49% feelings of belonging. It 's at 90% now, it's an effort, but when we reach that level, you can feel it in the school community. I am encouraging you to continue doing that work. Thanks a lot. Thank you for all your efforts. Now let's move on to the next matter. I'm going to give the Mayfir field update to Mrs. S. Right now, I'm going to have the pleasure of giving it to Nicholas Marshall, project manager on behalf of the Lenec Corporation, so that he can update the board of directors. Welcome, Mr. Marshall. Good afternoon, President Garsa and the executive staff. I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to oversee this incredible

045project we are building in Mayfare. I'm very excited about it . I want to give you an update on the Mayfair sports field . Construction activities are progressing in several areas of the project. Engineering of Los Angeles. The installation of the concrete and drainage will begin next week. The drainage structure is an incredible milestone in this project and we are pleased that we are on schedule and in good shape for this extremely important activity. It's on his schedule. The erection of the light poles has been completed and that is very exciting. You can see where the field is, it's giving us a sense of having the Friday night games, the concrete, we're putting the concrete and also for the facility buildings, the following groups of alpinists we were also able to a shade structure of

046the posts and the fence is on site installing the posts for the baseball and softball fields. The construction activities are being coordinated with the bricklayers and they are putting the courses in place for the new facilities. And we also have electrical trenches for electrical connections. I will coordinate the activities, monitor performance, and address the field conditions. As these issues arise, I will work closely with the contractors to remove any impediments so we can complete this project on time. I want to outline some limitations and mitigation measures that we're going to implement right now. Our concern is the weather and we cannot control the acts of God, but we will do what we can, the best we can. The impacts of the site affect drainage with various training programs, construction and equipment, site access and sequence,

047requirements for utilities, facilities, and also have limitations that we have to manage carefully. To mitigate these risks, project teams are coordinating; they have coordination meetings. The contractors and subcontractors are closely monitoring the delivery schedules, and we are scheduling everything to be done without the slightest disruption. The milestones are being tracked to identify delays early and keep everything on schedule. The next steps for the following weeks, the project team. We are going to install the drainage structures. Let's continue. with masonry and electrical work and completing the shade and railings and priority scheduling is the infrastructure, maintain coordination between the active trades and prepare the areas for subsequent buildings and courts to support the project's plot. We also have the stands on site and we're excavating for the new stands, and that 's very exciting too. That's

048where we are right now, and we're eagerly anticipating the next steps and completing this project. Thank you. Board members, does anyone have any questions or comments? Thank you, Madam President. A question. What is the completion date? It 's April, April 9, 2027. That's the date for having the complete project. Yes, we have had some challenges, but we have navigated by sequencing our schedule. I know we had a lot of rain; we had 17 days of rain currently. We're tracking that as 33 days of rainy days. The project completion date is still in place, and we are on track to complete it. However, we are seeing some delays due to certain challenges we 've encountered. But with the activities we've completed, the percentages we've achieved, and the amount of money we've spent, we are well on

049our way to completing it on time. Thank you. Any other questions? Thank you for your review. Is there a way to track progress that can be shown to us visually? Yes, I do give the team a progress report every month that gives them an outline of the completed activities, the fragments, the changes. We have a list of issues that we have identified, and then I give a brief update each month. That way I am tracking it and we have daily reports from special inspections and I am on site daily during operations. OK thanks. Thank you so much for your update. We are very excited about the work they are doing. Mayfer, my question for you is, when do you think you're going to come back to catch us up? That depends on you. I know

050they update us in the Friday memo, but my request is that when Mr. Marshall comes to update us, especially in the public forum, maybe he could have some photos, something visual, like the photos we receive, something to help the community get a sense of what's going on so they can get excited. Verbal updates are fine, but for those who are curious, they can walk around the site, but hearing about it and combining it with something visual would be better for our community. If it's something we can do next time, whatever the president wants, that would be my request. Thank you. Thanks a lot. This is a very exciting project. Thanks a lot. I have a question, Dr. Simon. These updates with the photos are indeed in the Belfower district news and also in the board

051updates. Thank you. That's all. I'm super excited to be here, to be part of the Belfower district family . Thank you for the opportunity. Thank you very much, Mr. Marshall. Now let's get to work. major. Now we will begin with order 11.1, the second reading of resolution 2026-0618, ordering a school bond, an election on November 3, 2026, and authorizing necessary actions in connection therewith. Does the board have any questions or comments? I have a motion to pass 11.1. I propose the motion for one second. We need to take attendance. Mrs. Armstrong. Yes. Mrs. Stuart. Yes. Mrs. Cintran, yes. Mr. Crit, yes. Mrs. Garcia, yes. Well, thank you very much, colleagues. I know we've been working hard on this. Thank you. Your effort and support are appreciated. 11.1 has been approved. Now we have 11.2 which

052is the approval of the community workforce agreement for the district project and its work. Comments, questions. I am totally in favor of this. My dad was at Local 105 as a sheet metal worker for 40 years and obviously I have prejudices, but I know he has very good skills and is amazing. So I'm really happy that this is happening. So thank you. Thank you, Madam President. I also strongly support this and I'm going to vote. Yes. And I just want to thank the staff for presenting this to the board and negotiating something that will work for the district, but will also bring many opportunities for students within the wider community. So thank you to everyone who was involved. I also want to thank the cabinet and the lawyers for working so hard on that contract.

053I know we had a lot of questions and concerns at the beginning, but I'm super excited about this contract and I'm eager to see how many students have a pathway open to the programs we provide for those who aren't ready to go to college. for those who will be able to have more control, opportunities to grow, for what they see in their future. So thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. President. I also want to say that this is very exciting for me too because I know what this can do for a family. I've seen it in my own family. I also have a family of Pos drivers who had a son, nephew, whatever , they trained them and it took them 5 years to gain extensive experience and they are simply passing the baton.

054So, for those of us planning to get our kids involved in one way or another, I was a product of the regional occupational program when I grew up in Comton. My dad had a painting job and was a colorist, so he taught these kids how to mix paint, how to paint cars, because he had a body shop, and it was very exciting. I work for many elected officials, but I'm excited to see how we're going to have an intersection with this program. So, let's vote. Thank you, colleagues. I also support the fact that they are excited and well, we have to get started. I have a motion to try matter 11.2. The motion is granted. Me first. Who's seconding me? Let's see if you keep pressing the buttons. Let's see who listened. Mrs. F, I

055listened to Mr. Cratfield and then seconded by Mrs. Armstrong. Yes that's how it is. Yes, you can give it to Marina. Alright. Well, whatever you want. So, we have to take attendance. Armstrong, yes, Stuart, yes. Sintron, yes, Cratfield, yes. Gara, yes. The approval of the community workforce agreement is passed. We're going to take a quick break so we can get all the locals here to come up here, and the board members and superintendent to come up and take a picture with us, please. The table will have a 5- minute break. Thank you. Let's resume the meeting. It's 7:43 and we're going to move on to the next item, which will be 11.3. Uh, the approval of the employment agreement for Bunny Carter as assistant superintendent. Let's review the salary and benefits here. According to code

05654953, I will provide a public summary of the salary and presentations that are being taken into account between the hiring contract between Bonnie Carter and the board of directors would be $225,000 annually with 57 24 days of paid vacation annually with a maximum of 24 eh days. These days cannot be paid annually, but must be paid when employment ends. So it would be up to 24 days, 12 days of sick leave per year, one day per month, paid membership in various professional organizations as approved by the board of directors, a stipend of $250 annually for a doctoral program, and an $8,000 annual business travel and expense stipend, including miles incurred carrying out his duties. I would also mention that all the contracts on the table have a termination clause, or termination of employment with or

057without justification, with 90 days' notice, which was extended from the previous 45 days. With that said, I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have here at the board meeting. I have a question for the attorney general. I have something to read, but I want to ask the question. In the closed meeting we cannot talk about what one person or another did, our votes or anything like that, but we are allowed to say publicly who was present or not present in these talks. Attendance at the closed session can be reported to the public. Only what is discussed in the closed session cannot be disclosed. Proposal if someone was there or not. I believe the minutes reflect this. That you were not present after 11:17 pm. No, I'm talking about you. He was saying who

058was there and who wasn't. Yes, and the minutes are also recorded , but the minutes aren't here tonight, no. I'm simply going to read a general statement. Before voting on these contract extensions individually, I would like to make a general statement that applies to all cabinet positions. Before us, my vote is not a reflection of the dedication, professionalism, or value of any member of the executive team. I work and respect very well with all members of the executive cabinet. I hope everyone knows and appreciates the work you do. That's true. My vote is based on governance, fiscal responsibility, and process. Those contracts already have 2 years remaining, which provides stability to the district and the individuals in these roles before extending the contracts further. The table has the benefit of reviewing the performance, the evaluations,

059eh data that support analysis of the organization of the district and surrounding districts and most importantly recommendations for the deputy mayor, who is the evaluator and supervisor director of her cabinet. I also believe that the former president should be leading the talks regarding the performance and future of her cabinet. Since the individual is responsible for evaluating and supervising those positions, their viewpoint is imperative for the board's decision-making. As members, your responsibility is to be leaders in tax expenditures and ensure that long-term spending commitments align with the needs arising from the economic situation and the financial projections presented. I don't believe that expanding the cabinet and hiring at this time is necessary. That doesn't mean the extension should never happen. And I hope you understand that. I don't want to lower morale; I don't believe these

060things should ever happen, but additional information, evaluation, and time may be necessary before making this commitment. Last year they extended contracts to provide stability, as our superintendent took over the leadership and district. I believe it is now important that we allow her the opportunity to continue evaluating her leadership and team in order to make recommendations based on the district's findings. Additionally, those contracts were intentionally structured as individual agreements. As such, I believe that each position should be considered on its own merits, responsibilities, performance, and need within the organization rather than as a single group. For those reasons, I will be evaluating each contract individually, as they have been scheduled for tonight. You can vote based on what I believe is in the best interest of the district, the students, staff, and community, but I believe

061that this contract and the other three executive cabinet contracts should be postponed until there is more information, and I do move to actually postpone this contract. Thank you for that. Ah, Stewart, your comment. I understand that you want more information. Basically, it's what you're asking for. It's more information. There is a way we can compromise and postpone this. A motion to postpone. We need a second and a vote. I'll do a second one. Again, I want to make it clear. This is the first thing I'm going to have to do. For each contract individually, it's about postponing all of these until we have more evaluated information, and that's what I believe. President Garsa, if I could, thank you Mr. President, I support the extensions of the contracts and I appreciate your efforts, as well as

062the extension of the superintendent. I think the conversations and the debate have been understanding. We were in closed session until midnight having this debate. I feel comfortable with this and I don't want to give the impression that you, doctor, did n't appreciate the contributions. What are you recommending to extend these contracts? I recommend that contracts be extended. Vice President Critfield, I value your contributions to these decisions. Ah, stability is important, and as the legal advisor said, there is a dismissal clause that has been exercised in the past. Hopefully that won't have to happen, but this board oversees and accountability very seriously, and then over time we will evaluate those conversations that will happen when they happen, but I support the procedure with these contracts so we can continue next year knowing that we will have

063the team together. One thing I want to state publicly as a board member is that my sole job is to evaluate the superintendent. We directly evaluate the superintendent, we don't evaluate her staff, and there are many things in closed session that we can't talk about, and I know the board knows what's going on . Thank you. Mr. Serrego, could we please have your legal advice on how this process would be carried out, so that the community can understand it? As member Critfield said, it was a thorough process we had that night. Someone did leave at 11:17 and we are not just making a decision easily, we agree that these contracts should be extended, continued. If they have a clause that says if the superintendent, who is the one who evaluates them and continues to evaluate

064them, has the option to terminate those contracts when she thinks it is necessary. Mr. Serre, could you please tell us the process? The negotiations with labor organizations or unions in the district are very similar. These negotiations take place once the board authorizes certain terms for these agreements. These terms are presented to individuals. They can agree or disagree , renegotiate, or request other things in the contract. It is a process that can take some time if the terms are accepted by the employee, they execute that agreement and then it comes before the board of directors for execution. Ah, what we're having this afternoon in this process. Yes, we had a discussion between myself as the negotiator for the school board regarding those contracts and the employees we negotiated, and the terms we reached are the terms

065we are presenting to the board. If I have a question, do you directly evaluate the executive cabinet? You say that they led the debates. Not me directly, I was the negotiator because it's a bit disorganized. I left because the last four meetings have gone from 11:30 to midnight or 1 a.m. in closed session, and I think we can do a better job with the agenda. Since I made the motion, she seconded it. Can we vote on that and then go back to the contract? I would expect the Speaker to call the roll and gladly consider the motion because I have a demonstration, I have a demonstration and a second to adjourn. It has already been seconded. Yes, there can be a debate before the vote. And the president, at her request to be put on

066the list. I would like to add one more thing. I believe the problem is that it's a sensitive issue to extend contracts instead of evaluating them. As member Stuart said, no, we do not evaluate the cabinet. I'm fine extending it because it has no monetary effect, but I was basically doing it. We need to keep the team together and have the because that's what we're going to do, because if we have that clause which is low, you can look for work and leave and give them notification. This section is open. I want to assure you that when I was doing that, it was in no way an evaluation because I don't have anything printed out about your job performance. Do you think there should be one before voting on this matter? It would be good

067if the superintendent shared with us how her cabinet is working in an evaluative way? I think that would be good, and that way we have a strong team and we're moving forward, but we as the board of directors are saying we have to keep them together and continue adding a year and make it a 3-year contract, but we're not evaluating them because that's not our job. I want everything to be clear to everyone. No board member will ever or ever evaluate a cabinet member. It's right. They don't work for us. The only person who works for us is the superintendent. We have never, ever evaluated any member of the cabinet. Dr. Simon has done that. She brought those contracts to the board because that's part of the process. This is the next step in that

068process. We either negotiate with them and keep the contract as it is, or we go back and talk to them like any union would. This has been a process that we have legally complied with, and at no time has there been a place where we have evaluated any member of the cabinet. I want to make that extremely clear so that if we request those evaluations, we would be overstepping our role. The superintendent just presented the contracts that she considered should continue the process. That's what we were participating in. These are the contracts that the superintendent presented. We have given her her place. The process has been legal. The legal advisor has followed up, helped the board of directors legally by being accountable to us and giving us options of what we can do together. We

069have to take attendance. I still have a comment for the public, because the president came by, asked, requested that we go through the roll. We are voting on the motion to postpone and the second one. Member Armstrong, yes. Member Stuart, yes. Secretary Centran, please clarify for me which motion we are voting on, the motion to postpone or the motion on the agenda. The motion to postpone the contracts to a future meeting. No. Vice President Criteld, no. President Garsa. No, the motion fails. A new motion will have to be made. Madam President, I am going to propose a motion to approve the contract itself . Just a second, now I can make my comment to clarify things for the audience. I wasn't asking to evaluate any staff. What I was asking for is to see supporting

070documents and information directly from the superintendent on basically what they have done, what they have done well, things of that nature to clarify. I would never ask to evaluate her cabinet because that's her job. And again in a closed session. We cannot discuss things that happen in closed session, but this board of directors knows what happened. I want to read a statement. I'm sorry for the sentiment. I think you guys do a great job, I just have a problem with the process and how it was handled. My vote is not a reflection of the people who hold this position. Educational services plays a critical role in student achievement, curriculum, and programs throughout the district. Bonnie has the background and the Belfar district and I thank her for her work and I tell her often and

071I hope you know. However, before extending the contract beyond its existing terms, I think the Board should have performance data, evaluation information, and recommendations from the superintendent regarding the future, the district's future priorities, and organizational needs. We should review the evaluations and discuss them with the superintendent, and the superintendent needs to be leading the discussions regarding her cabinet. We talked a lot about assessments and the need to have supervisors leading our district, and I don't think the cabinet would be any different. They have two years left on the contract and face financial and operational challenges. I'm going to vote no right now. Please pass the list. Armstrong member, yes. Member, no. Secretary, we are currently voting to extend the term. Thank you. Yes, Vice President Chriseld. Yes, President Garcia. Yes, the motion passes. The next

072item will be 11.4. His approval for the contract of Superintendent Alma Oya. I have a comment; obviously I want to postpone this contract, but without the support I have to cast a vote this afternoon. Member Steart, could you read me the legal reading? According to code 54953, I am providing an oral summary of the benefits and salary considered by the school board as part of the contract between the district and the superintendent to be named alma ola, it will be 200 25,057ths, 24 days of paid vacation annually for a maximum of 24 days in a year. Unused vacation days, up to a maximum of 24, will be paid upon termination of employment; 12 sick days accrue one day each month; and also in benefits for a doctorate and 8000 for business expenses and miles accrued

073in the performance of duties. The 90-day dismissal clause also applies. Again, I wanted to postpone this contract, but without support I have to provide a vote tonight. My vote again is not a reflection of the individual who is providing services in this position. Special education services are one of the most important responsibilities we have. Many things have improved in this department. I see the work that is being done and I appreciate it. However, our special education department has undergone significant changes recently. Even if these efforts are ultimately successful, I believe more time is needed to evaluate the results, effectiveness, and long- term outcomes before extending the contract beyond its current term and allowing the surprising individual with prior experience in special education more than 11 months to evaluate their team. The superintendent has to be

074leading the talks regarding her cabinet with two years left on the contract. I don't believe immediate action is needed and I will vote no on the extension at this time. That does n't mean it won't happen in the future, but tonight I wouldn't do it in order to look for more information. Anyone else? A motion to approve. Secondary. We took attendance at miembratafield, yes. President Garcia. Yes. The motion passes. Now we're going to 11.5. approval of the business officer for this René Arcos. Thank you, Madam President. According to government code 54953, I am providing an oral summary of the salaries and benefits being considered by the board of directors as part of the employment contract between the district and René Arques. This is going to be 2225,000.57. 24 days of paid vacation annually with a

075maximum accumulation of 24 hours of vacation used will be paid to you at the end of your employment. 12 days of sick leave, which is granted one per month. paid organizations, as approved by the board of directors, an annual stipend of 50 for a bachelor's degree or a doctorate, 8000 for travel and business expenses, including miles, carrying out their duties and a 90-day notice to terminate the contract or cancel the contract. It's over now. Okay. Well, since we didn't postpone the contract, I'm unfortunately going to have to cast a vote on this extension. As a member, I have had the opportunity to review the economic reports regularly, including budget updates, interim reports, and real, unaltered costs and presentations. Reports have shown evidence of improved oversight, enhancement, and efforts to close gaps in finance by providing

076transparent and consistent information. The regalization of employees and the community is very positive, and we always need to have someone in finance no matter what's happening with declining enrollment. I could keep Mrs. Arcos for more years, because I feel that her position will never disappear and it is valuable to the district. Although I am concerned about the financial challenges facing school districts in California, I believe that work is being done to monitor and manage district finances. It has demonstrated progress and accountability. Dr. Sim has worked with Ms. Arcas before, and for those reasons I vote yes to this contract and its extension. to test. Seconded. Let's take attendance. Armstrong. Yes. Stuart. Yes. Write to Cintrón. Yes. Vice President Critfield. Yes. President Garza, yes. The motion passes. Now we have item 11.6, the approval of Superintendent

077Ryan Smith. Pursuant to Labor Code 54953, I am providing the public with an oral summary of the balances and benefits being taken into account by the board of directors as part of the employment contract between the district and Dr. Ryan Smith. $261,000 annually, $413 annually, 24 days of paid vacation annually with a maximum of 24 days. Unused vacation days can be paid out at the end of your employment. 12 days of sick leave, which accumulates one per month in paid memberships in organizations as approved by the board of directors. $1,250 to get a doctorate annually. $8,000 annual stipend for any business-related travel or expenses, including miles incurred during the performance of your duties, and also a 90-day notice to terminate the contract. Again, I would have liked to postpone this issue, but I have been

078asked to vote tonight. My vote is not a reflection of the individual who holds this position, but with two years remaining on the contract, I do n't think an extension is needed at this time, given that we are experiencing declining enrollment and long-term financial challenges. Many districts are reassessing administrative structures and executive-level positions. We just had to let go of many of the deputy directors because we don't have the figures. Before extending this program, the board of directors must have data regarding organizational needs. comparative structures and recommendations from the supervisor regarding the future role of this position. The supervisor has to be carrying out the descriptions regarding her cabinet. For those reasons I am going to vote no on this contract at this time. Motion to approve unanimously. Let's take attendance. Armstrong. Yes. Stuart. No.

079They write to Cintrón. Yes. Vice President Critfield, yes. And President Garza, yes. The motion passes. Uh, lastly, we have the 11.7 approval of the employment agreement for the superintendent with Dr. Ering Simon. Mr. Segga, thank you Madam President. Heron. Pursuant to Government Code 54953, I will provide the public with an oral summary of the salary and benefits being taken into account by the board of directors as part of the employment contract between the district and Dr. Aon Simon. The balance would be 325,000 annually, 24 days of paid vacation annually with a maximum of 48, which if not used will be paid at the end of your employment. 12 days of accumulated sick leave, one per month. Organizations paid as approved by the board of directors. 1250 annually for a doctorate. a contribution of $10,000 annually,

080plus taxes, $12,000 for any business travel and expenses, including miles, carrying out his duties and not giving 90 days' notice to cancel the contract. I am going to support that contract, this extension, as a Friday at the table. I am one of the super-learning evaluators. I have had the opportunity to observe Dr. Simer and her leadership directly and receive positive feedback from unions, teachers, and the community. I have seen positive progress, very dedicated decision-making. I think she is the right person to carry out the board's vision and do the work we want because she gets the job done. When I took advantage of her contract and we hired her a year ago, I believe that her leadership and stability at the highest level are important. Particularly when navigating financial challenges, changes in enrollment, and strategic

081planning for the future. We have had three superintendents in recent years. And if she's willing to agree to another year, that's great. considered some of the things I know. I welcome the stability that is being brought to us. For these reasons I support extending the superintendent's contract and I will vote yes on this. Motion to approve. Seconded. Let's take attendance. Armstrong member. Yes. Stuart. Yes. It's a cremtron. Yes. Vice President Critfield, yes. President Garza, yes. The motion passes. Uh, we have some issues here that we want to remove from the consent agenda. I wanted to get 12.21. I just wanted to comment on that regarding the contracts. Anyone else? The 1221. I have the 1221 that is being retired and the 1215. Okay. The 1215. Member eh Armstrong wants to retire some other. For some

082reason I can't find it. It was one that had to be seen for the Black Knight night and it's for safety and the student environment. I know we've had some improvement. Excuse me, my Armstrong woman, you wanted to know if I had any other matters I wanted to withdraw, right? So, just 12.21, 21. Correct. And then 12.15, right? Please, anyone else? Okay, I have a motion to pass the consent agenda with the exception of 1221.15. Motion seconded. Let's take attendance. Miss Armstrong. Yes. Stuart. Yes. They write to Cintrón. Yes. Crit, yes, Garza, yes. Now we will move on to the matters that were withdrawn. 12.15. Um, Miss Arco, I just wanted to, I know we've spoken and you've answered some questions about the instructional materials and things, and I just wanted to give you the

083opportunity to talk about some of the questions that were asked because there's a good relationship here and I wanted to give you the opportunity to do this. Thank you. Thank you, miss. Thank you for the opportunity. In particular, instructional materials. It is a very common practice in districts to use this for book adoptions. Uh, instructional materials are used very frequently; it's the best place to buy new books for students. So during the year they'll have some replacement books and other things, but if they save this money and wait until the next adoption, which is what we have, uh I think it's the math one in 2027, they have a good bucket of money to support them and buy new books. Those are the main reasons why we have those funds in that account and we

084are working to have it adopted by next year. The budget was already prepared with this adoption in mind so that if that adoption is in the school year, the 2016-27 budget will use those funds. You can see that the figure will reach zero, and we will return to using this bucket to support students so that we don't have to use other funds for instructional materials. So, because we closed on June 30th, that's why they are now being moved to next year's adoption. That's correct. Thank you. Any other questions or comments? No, I have a motion then to try item 12.15. Motion seconded. Let's take attendance. Armstrong. Yes. Stuart. Yes. Cintrón. Yes. Crit, yes. Garza, yes. The next track to be removed is 12.21. Questions, comments. Ah, thank you, President Garza. I am referring to the

085safety of the school environment. I know I have some improvements to the questionnaire about how safe parents, teachers, and high school and elementary school students feel. And I know we still have Black Knight patrolling. We are still doing some other things to promote safety, because I know we had a big talk about the different things we can do and although they provided many services for us, I think it was good. But what else are we doing about security, and are we extending this for another year? So there are a variety of things we're doing regarding security that are not part of the Black Knight contract. So let's continue with the canines, the pen vape machines in the bathrooms. So those things are going to continue. Regarding the restrooms, I know that high school staff are

086also doing safety routes. One of the biggest things students talk about is the bathrooms. So the high school staff are also investigating this and then we're going to put some things up because we had some very violent fights this past year. We are putting something in place that may possibly protect students and staff on campus. We have put some things in place and are working with our partners at LCEL on restorative justice for staff. I'm going to add it for next year. Yes, we are trying, we are investigating ways for our students to enter and exit school campuses while ensuring they have their IDs. This year at Mayfer we piloted a badge with IDs to verify that the students entering the school campuses were indeed the ones being identified. We're also looking at other security

087measures, like increasing the number of security cameras so staff can review incidents and other aspects on our premises in a timely manner. Okay. Okay. I hope we can feel much more confident by this time next year, to see more progress. Thanks a lot. That would be all. I have a question. My first question is number 50, the beach volleyball course. I know we had complaints about having those woodships in the playgrounds. They're going to be closed. And how are we going to keep the animals out of the arena? I'm sorry, I know the answer: it's going to be closed off by a gate and the sand is fabulous. We will no longer have any security concerns regarding the arena, and the volleyball courts will also be closed. And I have one, I'm not going to

088be supporting this contract with Black Knight because it's item 48. This, perhaps, puts me in a difficult situation because all these contracts are together and there are many contracts that I want to vote on, but I can't make a motion to postpone some, I have to vote on all of them. So, in order for you to understand why I am voting the way I am, my decision is not a reflection of the individuals who are providing the service, it is a reflection of whether this continues to be the most efficient and responsible use of the district's resources. Last year, parents, students, and staff raised concerns that putting guns and armed security outside the school does not address the incidents that happen inside schools, where student conflicts and fights occur. Several concerns were raised with me

089and other members regarding situations where Black Knight staff were unable to prevent individuals from entering or leaving the school and were unable to intervene in a timely manner when problems arose. This contract is $276,000. Before renewing such a large amount, the board should be reviewing clear information on the effectiveness of the program, incident reports and results, and whether the positions are fulfilling their purpose. That analysis has not been presented, mentioned, or evaluated as a body of governance. We have a responsibility to ensure that every dollar we spend has measurable results in student safety. In addition, community members and parents took time to speak publicly on this issue. Many expressed ignorance of the placement and purpose of these positions. I received many emails and there was no speaker to approve this contract given the cost, the

090level of public interest and the questions I still have, I do not believe this matter should be on the consent order and be continued without a debate and review of the data after speaking with legal counsel. There are many contracts I want to vote on in Think Together. We can review. I want to vote on each of the contracts with the exception of Black Knight, and I can't do that because this matter was in the orders under consent. I'm going to vote. No, I have two questions about two different contracts that I hope the staff can help me with. The first one is from Stepping, the Stepping Jones contract. We talked a lot last year about hiring our own assistants. I know that's difficult in many ways, but looking at the contract and the salary

091rates, maybe if you could give us a little more clarity because there are certain salaries that are higher and I know that the staff worked very hard to negotiate these salary rates. How do I interpret the salary rate schedule? What is relevant to what we are doing? And secondly, what is the action plan for hiring our own assistants? Because I think that's something that would benefit the students. I know it's going to be difficult, but we have to find a solution. Yes of course. In terms of salary rates, we work with agencies and negotiate salary rates. When they give us the salary rates, they give us all the services that the agency gives us , the rates for stepping are 37 per hour for each professional and 47 for conduct assistants. Thank you. And what

092are we doing in terms of hiring our own assistants, because I know we've had it as a continuous publication without much luck. What are we going to do to correct that? We were able to hire a few during the course of the school year. I don't know the exact figure, but I can get it for you. We work closely with our ranked director, Dr. Olmos, and meet on a regular basis to review the eligibility list and interviews. It is an ongoing project and we are working closely with Dr. Olmos to continue these efforts. Thank you for making this a priority and for the information you gave me earlier. If we can send that information to the rest of the board and each assistant, that would be super helpful for future discussions. Thank you, Alma. The

093next contract will be with American Transportation. Thank you. I know it's very hard work, given what the board asked of you a year ago, and I know the great efforts in that direction, also considering the contract that allows us to operate our own trucks. From what I understand, the negotiations were good and we got good terms. But what will the plan be next year, and what will this contract allow us to do with our internal transportation going forward? Thank you, Vice President Kchfield. The contract negotiations were difficult and lengthy, and Mr. Sorga did help us, and I am very grateful for those efforts. Forward. Ah, we extended the contract for another year because during this process of more than a year, during 2025-2026, we posted on 18 different platforms looking for our truck drivers. Yes,

094we hired four truck drivers, which is a good step, but when we negotiated the contracts, we negotiated the routes that all our drivers would have from home to school, and the rest of the vacant routes will use the transportation system. Another thing that was a good negotiation is that we have the first right of reuse. The drivers have first right to excursions and sporting events. My goal is to use our four choirs to invest in our skills. What it does leave is an opening for next year is that we will be recruiting heavily again for the truck driver position. Finding employment is still difficult because since the pre-pandemic, we are down 9 to 15% in Los Angeles County in terms of being able to employ truck drivers. The efforts in human resources have been extensive

095and we are grateful for them. That hasn't changed the way the contract was negotiated, which we can continue and we found a driver this year, although we have to be aware that we don't want to hire a driver who ca n't do a route. If we want, we have the option of having first-class access to all excursions and sports, which, as a district of our size, can keep us quite busy. We will continue making progress in an internal transportation department and continue hiring truck drivers. This contract is a one-year extension of what we had when we held the bidding process. Most standardized transportation contracts are for 5 years. Our first achievement was a maximum of a 3-year contract with a renewal every year. This is the second year of the contract. It's a plan while

096we're working towards the goal of having the internal trucks. Thank you for your efforts and also for addressing the hiring bonus. I saw a lot of creativity. They are trying to recruit for those positions. A follow-up with the rest of those positions, that means we are going to continue hiring for those positions or we are going to wait until they are not used. We are going to continue hiring. Let's continue. As I mentioned, we have the ability to use them for sports and excursions. We're going to investigate. We don't want to hire too many, but we don't want to miss the opportunity to hire a chauffeur. Well, it's a mix we have here. We are going to make the board's objective of having an in-house transportation department. We need to be cautious because the funding

097is important to us and to the board of directors. We're going to be careful when it comes to years 26, 27, and 28. And yes, the significant reduction in the contract, I think, was almost half of the previous year. So, thank you. It's a little bit more than half, but I did want to emphasize that we will be monitoring throughout the year and reporting in the Friday updates in case there is an event because we cannot hire or because we do need that additional support for the excursions, we would present it again to the board. Okay. I have an additional comment about Black Knight. I know it seems like I'm wasting data, but in the evaluations looking at the environment and safety, 52% of students feel safe in schools, and this was after we approved

098that contract. I'm going to make a comment on that. I think everyone wants our students to feel safe, and we have different solutions. We also all listened to different people in the community. I think that for me personally, I have heard good things about incidents that did not happen, that were averted, and that people were very grateful for the additional security presence. Opinions may vary, but I feel that safety is the thing, the top priority for this district, and I suppose we all have different points of view, but I do agree with my colleague that having data to support the investment would be great and we should have that throughout the year. I support receiving more information, I have no further questions. I have another protest planned, I'm not going back. I speak to many

099people and 19 people came to share their message and they usually give me emails from all over the district, not just in my own districts. Not one of the 19 or 20 people who came spoke, nor did anyone who sent an email, support this contract. Thank you. We need to take attendance, please. Calling the question is a motion that calls for a 45 to be able to pass if you want to withdraw it and propose a motion to approve the matter 12 point 12. One second. Let's take the roll, please, Mrs. Armstrong. Yes, Mrs. Steart. again to explain my vote. I support all contracts with the exception of Black Knight, and for that reason I will abstain. Mrs. Centron, yes, Mrs. Critfield, yes, Mrs. Garcia, yes. Now let's move on to member communications and reports.

100We have to start with the Armstrong member. Well, thank you all for being here with us as we deal with these school matters. I hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of their summer. I started my summer by visiting Woodroff. Wroof had a summer camp that some of the children attended, called Schoolard Rap, and it was a culmination of the week's activities. The children put on a show from all grades, learning many different languages. Well, certain words in languages. and distinct cultural music which is in accordance with the culture and dances. They learned different dances, so just hearing them sing and say, for example, "ambroso" whatever word it was, and dance and sing, was a lot of fun. Many of my community members came to see and the parents of the community were invited , so

101it was really nice. And the people from Schoolard Rap had a lot of people. He ca n't even tell you how many people they sent to work with our children. The director told me, whether we have 20 children or 60, we're going to send the same number of people because they want to make sure the children have the experience they want them to have. So I don't know, I had a lot of fun and I hope to see more of these Yard Wrap ones in our schools. So thank you for inviting them. Thank you. Thank you, member Armstrong, member Stuart, good night. I only went to Caps' meeting this week, but I do want to say a few things. First of all, congratulations to the teachers and CE employees for their tentative agreements. I'm excited

102for you all. Yes, I want to say thank you to whoever is best, Dr. Smith is the best for the job listings. I know they're listing them based on what they're for, so I really appreciate that. Thanks a lot. One of the things that worries me is the number of high-priority issues that are on the agendas. This was a very big agenda with many things, and in particular the summer with teachers and families are limited in their availability. These issues require adequate time for input from the community and the board of directors. And the last meetings, as they continue to say, I left the meeting, four meetings, the closed situations have passed more than 11:30 and two ended at midnight and one almost at 1 a.m. Those long hours and afternoons reduce public participation and

103also prevent us from making the best decisions. To address these issues, I request that the board's calendar be put on the agenda for consideration, and that high-priority topics be prioritized, meetings added if necessary, and schedules improved. Specifically, I propose closed sessions starting at 4:30 and regular sessions starting at 6 or 6:30, but I believe these changes would improve efficiency, increase public participation, and lead to better decision-making. because it was strategically pointed out that I left the closed session early. Yes, I left early, and one more thing: again, I don't like doing things this way, but I will never let people talk to me the way they sometimes do in closed sessions. They will never disrespect me, I will never let them talk to me like that and just leave things as they are . So

104yes, I did leave at 11:17. 11:17 is already an incredible time, really, when we have work the next day and I care about my students, but I'm not going to let someone disrespect me and think it's okay because it's not. And if our leadership doesn't want to step in and take the reins and stop this behavior, then I will leave. Sintron Member. Hello, um, good evening. I have a few general things I'd like to say, one of them. I am very happy that the bonus measure has been approved. It is an important step in addressing facility needs and giving the community the opportunity to decide whether they will invest in the future of our schools. I'm excited to engage with the neighbors, making sure they have the information they need to make an informed decision.

105I would also like to take this moment to address the executive cabinet. I'm going to speak to you. I want to take a moment to acknowledge and thank the executive cabinet. I 've said it many times before, but it's worth saying again. It has truly been a great honor and privilege to work alongside each of you, to get to know you as individuals, and to collaborate with you professionally through some very complex and challenging situations. The truth has been a blessing. Each of you has shown a great passion for this district and an unwavering commitment to making the Bellflow district the best it can be. They have welcomed a board that asks questions, gets very deeply involved, and tries to learn and grow. And this really means a lot to me. Regardless of the topic,

106regardless of how sensitive or difficult the conversation may be, I have always felt welcome to have an open and honest dialogue with each of you. I am especially grateful for their patience, their willingness to help, their experience, and their commitment to helping build and grow my knowledge and skills as a board member. The professional relationships we have created have been rooted in a shared commitment to transparency, collaboration, and doing what is best for our students. Thanks to their guidance and partnership, I have been able to continue learning alongside the community to make more informed decisions on behalf of the community. Thank you for your leadership, your dedication, and for the trust you have placed in me throughout this journey. Uh, I feel deeply appreciative of each and every one of you. And finally, I also

107want to say happy June 10th. Tomorrow we're going to join a community across the nation to celebrate Jun Tit. It is a day that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States and honors African American achievements and contributions in our history. Jun Tit reminds us that freedom, equality, and opportunity are valued and must be protected and advanced further for each generation. As educators, leaders, families, and community members, we have a shared responsibility to ensure that schools are places where all students feel understood, valued, and empowered to succeed. He encourages everyone to reflect on the significance of this day, learn from our history, and continue to work towards creating a more equitable future. So happy tuntin and good night. Thank you. They write to Cintrón. Vice President Critfield, one thing and strictly to correct the

108minutes, the session closings never went past 1 a.m. and the entire board wants input from the community and to say otherwise does not reflect what we have done. We have changed the session to have more afternoons to have more input. That's why we went back to a closed session to have more open sessions for community input, and we took all of this, we accepted it all. It's not easy, we stayed late. I think it reflects that the table does want to have these very robust talks and truly collaborate. So I do n't like the fact that this is kind of a tone because this is an amazing night, it has done me very good things, it is a vote of confidence in the superintendent or first of all and her entire executive cabinet that we

109are going to go in the right direction, but also the workforce agreement to the community is going to bring us opportunities to the student community, as well as the bonus. It's been a few years since anything like this happened, and I think it's huge to be excited about it, and in fact, we should celebrate. So I'm very proud of what this board does, regardless of anything about the person. We all want what's best for the district, and the same goes for the staff. So thank you. I think tonight is an amazing night and I'm really excited for next year. Good night. Oh, she's gone. Thank you, Vice President Critfield. Executive secretary could reflect in the minutes that at 8:44 Yes, at 8:44 the member Stuart left. So I'm very happy that we've come this far

110and that the cabinet is now set for the next school year. I agree with member Field and member Cintrón, that it is a great vote of confidence to move forward this school year. As stated before, we have the equipment we need for now. I am very happy to share this responsibility with our cabinet and with members. It 's not easy, as Member Quill said, we have a very dynamic board, but we all have the best interests of our students and the district. So, we hope that you will continue to come and ask questions and let us know what we don't know and the needs of the community as well. I agree. One more thing I want to make sure of, which the CRFIL member did mention, is that if we move it to 5 pm,

111that's so the public can say what they want to say and give the board more time to relax, but it's also because if we hadn't changed it, the five of them would n't have a core on the board. That means that at least three board members must be present for a meeting to take place. Some of us traveled on many freeways at 4 in the afternoon, so in order to have a heart we had to change it. I'm only speaking for myself, but they wouldn't have a female president here constantly presiding over their meetings. Every two weeks, every Thursday, they would have the president, the vice president of Cfield, who would start the meetings. I can't be here at this time, so it's not just for me, it's also for other members of the board,

112but for a meeting to happen, it has to have leather. Well, so happy June, as President Centrón said, and happy Father's Day. Excuse me, the president said she was writing. Oh, and thanks to everyone. Make sure they stay safe, get some rest, and come back next school year. Well rested. Now we have news items. Any questions? Any comments? I have a question, Mrs. Carter, I know this is the first reading. At the next meeting it will be like the adoption and approval of this or we are still investigating this will be the first reading. If there is anything you need or want to mention, we can present it and the second meeting will be for consent. Is there any reason why we can terminate the next one if it's a consent contract ? But there

113is a reason why this is not being presented when the teachers could attend. The reason what happened just now is that we took extra time talking with our teachers. After the meeting we had for the presentation, we were still going around to talk to the student body. We also had a focus group of teachers who were most affected by Bapa and world languages, and also with other teachers. Ah, it took us a while, and that's why he's at this meeting. I appreciate you forming the committee or organization with the teachers because honestly this is not my specialty. I need those voices sometimes. That's why I questioned him. Thank you. I have a question. If our students have to do a fifth year, they will do it in the regular school setting with the other students.

114I'm trying to read it. The fifth year would not be impacted. It's going to be the same way it works. Right now they can move to Summerset, they can recover their loan, and that's not impacted by this either. Thank you. Any other questions or comments? If the board of directors is going to adjourn the session at 8:50 until the next regular meeting on Thursday, August 13th. Thank you.