Board of Education Meeting - May 14, 2026

001Good evening everyone and welcome to tonight's regular meeting of the board of education. This meeting is called to order at 5:01 p.m. Roll call please. >> Student member Chikke. >> Miss Armstrong >> present. >> Miss Stewart >> present. >> Miss Cron >> present. >> Mr. Critchfield >> present. >> Mrs. Garza >> present. Tonight we have a request to address close session agenda items. Mr. John Paul Dreer, would you please come to the podium? >> Uh, good evening. Happy May Revised Day. John Paul Dreer Albert Baxter alumni go Bears. Um, I'm looking at 2.1 2.2 2.3. It would be helpful in the spirit of transparency um if we know how many student matters, how many uh legal potential matters and I thank uh the attorney who's out here um for saying at least one item on

002the the legal matters but also on employee discipline like or or sometimes this is just a template. Sometimes there's it's just zero. It would be great for the community if there's clarification of how many of these I know you can't give the names or what not, but to know the extent because I just found out about a previous lawsuit that was not made um notice to me and that concerns me because um the the audit that I requested uh there was a domino effect of other lawsuits and this is another one that just kind of slipped by. I knew of some that were triggered by the audit, but I just found a new one. uh and I I will need further clarification on that later. And I would like to meet uh with the superintendent

003and the board members uh that were on the board at the time of the audit would be very helpful uh for for myself and for the community to clarify some things about what happened after the audit. Thank you. >> Mr. Dreer, I'm so sorry. Can I get a little bit of clarification? you want to meet with our current superintendent and the whole board. >> Uh the board members were on the board during the release of the audit. It was a couple years ago. There would be like two members. >> Thank you. Dr. Simon, would you please um get something on the books for that? Thank you. >> At this time, the board will adjourn to close session. Open session will resume approximately at 6:30. Thank you. Good evening everyone. Thank you for your patience. At

004this time, the board will adjourn to close I'm sorry, will reconvene to open session 6:48 p.m. and resume the regular order of business. Um, we have replacement pages for items 11.4 and 11.10. They are at the back table for you and we will walk uh go to pledge of allegiance. Albert Baxter, student body president Aiden Santa Cruz will lead us in the pledge of allegiance this evening. Aiden out in the back out in outside. Okay, Gil, would you mind? Thank you. Please rise and remove your hats. All right. Uh, I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you so much, Gil. Um at this time we will move into recognitions. Dr.

005Simon. >> Thank you board president Garza. At this time I will ask the board to come down from the dis as we honor those being recognized this evening and our assistant superintendent of educational services Mrs. Bonnie Carter will assist us with recognitions. Thank you. This evening, the board of education is pleased to recognize the Skills USA state medal winners, MESA winners, Belfflower ASB leadership program and student board reporters. I kindly ask the board to join us up front for recognitions, which they've done. Thank you so much. As we have many recognitions tonight, we ask that as groups of students are recognized, you exit the boardroom for additional photo opportunities so that we can bring in the next group of students to be acknowledged. Staff and students, as I call your name, please join us up

006front and remain for a picture. We're going to start off with SkillsUSA state leadership and skills conference. Congratulations to the following students who earned medals at the Skills USA state leadership and skills conference. We will start off with Calaps chapter. The board of education would like to recognize Belfare Unified students participating with the CLAPS chapter. At this time, we'd like to call up Arlene Whitney, chief executive officer of Cal Apps, to help us acknowledge our student winners from the Calaps chapter. From Belfflower High School for commercial drone earning gold, we have Julian Luna. 12th grade first place gold commercial drone team competition. We also have Dylan Bera, 10th grade first place gold commercial drone team competition. Oh, thank you, Miss Whitney. Can you please come join us up to be recognized with your students? That's

007wonderful. This competition evaluates a team of two members skill skills and their preparation for employment in multiple career fields related to the safe and efficient use of drone technology and the national airspace system while also recognizing outstanding performance in real world scenario-based situations. We'd like to congratulate Julian and Dylan. Let's give them a round of applause. Congratulations everyone. Nice job. At this time, I'd like to call up Gil Castanada, director of secondary education, to help us acknowledge our student winners from the B USD chapter. Please come on forward. We're going to start with Somerset. At this time, we'd like to call up Somerset CTE teacher Julio Guzman to help us acknowledge our student winners from Somerset High School. Somerset High School 12th grade student Anthony Santos, please come forward. Anthony earned bronze in telecommunications cabling.

008Congratulations Oh yes. Thank you, Miss Jos. Come on up. Our principal of Somersets. Thank you so much and congratulations again. Next, we'll be honoring Mayfair. So, if we could please have the principal of Mayfair come forward. Miss Morgan, Dr. Morgan, thank you. And Mr. Cassinada, thank you for staying. We are going to recognize Mayfair Middle School seventh grader Darien Dell Rosario and Isaiah Leonard. Please come forward. We're also recognizing Mayfair Middle School eighth graders. Uh eighth grader, although not here in attendance, we'd like to recognize Sheilong Stockholm. So, please give a round of applause. And these students earned silver in engineering technology design. And we also have more winners from Mayfair. So why don't we bring them all up at the same time? Earning silver in promotional bulletin board. Let's recognize Mayfair High School 12th

009graders Ki and Karina Marcato. and Alyssa Pau and earning gold in CO2 race car and design. Mayfair High School 9th grader Calvin Blancas. Additionally, the following students earned gold medals in categories that moved on to compete at the National Skills USA Leadership and Skills Conference in Atlanta, Georgia during the week of June 1st. Let's recognize earning gold in team engineering challenge. Mayfair Middle School 7th graders James Hernandez Singh, Thomas Cook, and Verabbat Moth. Please come forward. and earning gold in extemporaneous speaking. Mayfair High School 12th grade student Nema Pit Baines Let's congratulate Mayfair students. We'd like to say congratulations to our Mayfair students and their adviser, Miss Andradico, for representing our district so well. So thank you again Mayfair. Moving on to Bellflower we would like to recognize Basil Aad a Belf. Basil is a

010Belfar High School 12th grade student. Out of hundreds of entries, Basil's pin design was selected and voted on by California Skills USA members to serve as the official California state trading pin that will be traded by the California delegation at the National Conference. Although Basil will not be competing at nationals, he will be traveling to the nationals conference as a voting delegate and participating in the pin training experience where he he will have the opportunity to see is designed, traded, and collected by thousands of participants from across the country. We are fortunate to obtain an exclusive batch of these pins and have one for each of our board and cabinet members to wear with pride. Joining Basil is our CTA department, CTE department chair, Erica Al Faro. Please give her a round of applause as

011well. And if you did not see, we have a picture of the pin right there against that far wall. So, let's give a final congratulations for this recognition. Thank you. Congratulations again. We are incredibly proud of the accomplishments of all of our Belfflair Unified CTE students who competed at both regional and state levels. Their success reflects the talent, dedication, and hard work of our students, advisors, and teachers, and highlights the amazing opportunities available across the many CTE pathways offered throughout our schools. Congratulations again, and thank you for your support, Principal Cummings, as well. Next, we're going to recognize Mesa Regional Competition. Congratulations to the following Mayfair High School students who earned medals at the Mesa Regional Competition. MESA, which stands for Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement, is a statewide program that empowers underrepresented students across California

012to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. We would like to recognize for earning gold in the category of coding solutions, Mayfair High School 10th graders, Gregory Mahia and Ryder Hit. Last year, Gregory and Ryder earned silver, but this year they advanced to the experienced division, competing in Python 3 against some of the region's top young programmers and emerged as champions. Let's give them a round of applause for this amazing achievement. Thank you, Dr. Morgan, for standing in. We appreciate you. Congratulations, Next, we will be recognizing the outstanding leadership program award. The board of education would like to recognize the outstanding leadership program award. Congratulations to the Belefflar High School ASB for earning the prestigious California Association of Student Leaders Outstanding Leadership Program. To achieve this distinction, ASB student leaders submitted a comprehensive self-study

013review of their leadership program, showcasing their progress in meeting the objectives of the Kata and Castle Roadmap to enhance school climate and culture. This marks the ninth consecutive year that the program has been honored with this award. This evening, accepting this recognition on behalf of ASBR and as I call your name, please come forward. ASB co-president Zu Lima Castro, ASB co-president Steven Martinez, ASB Vice President Ashley Diaz, ASB co-public relation ations director Kayn Vera ASB co-public relations director Andre Brody Ko unable to make it here with us tonight. ASB Secretary Lily Marino, ASB Treasurer Norma Garcia, ASB Chief of Staff Destiny Padilla Martinez, Senior Class President Jennifer Grano, And joining them is the Belfflower High School activities director, Shannon Dollar Hovves. >> Thank you, Principal Cummings. We appreciate you. One more round of applause. Next,

014we would like to recognize student board reporters. So, for the 2526 school year, first we would like to uh recognize Belfflower High School senior Kayn Evvani Vera. Caitlyn has consistently demonstrated excellence and dedication throughout her academic journey with a remarkable cumul cumulative GPA of 4.4. She joined our district in August 2017, starting her education at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School. Kayn's passion for learning shines through her coursework, particularly in earth science, her favorite class, where engaging labs and collaborative group work inspire her love for the subject. Active in various clubs and organizations including ASB, Link Crew, Apex, CSF, National Honor Society, Theater, and the Early College Academy. She exemplifies leadership and commitment to her school community. Looking ahead, Kayn plans to attend UC Davis where she will major in molecular and medical microbiology and hopes to

015contribute to groundbreaking research in the university's labs. Let's celebrate her achievements and we look forward to her bright future. Next, representing Mayfair High School, junior Gil Freriedman. On behalf of the board, we would like to extend recognition to Gil Freriedman for his outstanding service as a student board reporter representing Mayfair High School. Gil is an outstanding 11th grade student who has been part of the Belfflower Unified School District since kindergarten, beginning at Intensive Learning Center Elementary. Throughout his academic journey, Gil has demonstrated a strong commitment to both his studies and his school community. One of Gil's favorite classes is ethnic studies, where he values the opportunity to explore American history through diverse perspectives. He especially appreciates how the course allows him to see aspects of his own identity reflected in the curriculum, making learning both

016meaningful and personal. Gil also speaks highly of his favorite teacher, Mr. Headley. whom he describes as genuine, passionate, and deeply knowledgeable about history. He admires Mr. Headley's ability to create a respectful classroom environment where all opinions are valued, something Gil recognizes as especially important in today's complex political climate. Gil is actively involved in numerous programs and leadership roles on campus. He serves as a section leader in Showtime and has been elected as vice president for the upcoming school year. He is also the ASB 11th grade class president, a cast leader in Monsoon Theater, and currently serves as a student board reporter. Through each of these roles, Gil consistently demonstrates leadership, responsibility, and a genuine desire to uplift those around him. Gil Freriedman exemplifies what it means to be a dedicated student leader, and we are

017proud to recognize him for his contributions and his achievements. Congratulations, REPRESENTING Somerset High School, senior Jolene Liera. Jolene has been an asset to the Somerset community. She served as an ASB. She has read the daily announcements to the student body. She participated in woodshop. She contributed to the school yearbook. She served on the superintendent student advisory board and was acknowledged as a super saint. And she got the key club running again and solicited a 500 donation from the local Kiwanis towards the building of their annual haunted maze. This past fall, she completed counseling 101B with Cerritos College, and she is enrolled there to study childhood development for next year. She is an active student who works to make school more enjoyable for her peers every day. We are so very fortunate to have her at

018Somerset High School and fortunate to have her as one of our board reporters. So, thank you and congratulations. Next, we would like to uh recognize Los Flores Home Independent Study Academy junior Josanna Torres. The board proudly recognizes Joanna sophomore ASB president and the first ever Los Flores board reporter. Since joining Los Flores community in 2122 as a sixth grade student, Josanna has consistently demonstrated dedication to her academics and school community. From taking integrated math in eighth grade to currently pursuing dual enrollment courses through Cerritos College, she exemplifies hard work and academic excellence. As ASB president, Josanne is committed to increasing high school community involvement and student participation. Her positive attitude, strong leadership, and role as an amazing big sister to her three young siblings make her an exceptional role model. Joanna is an outstanding representation

019of what it means to be a Los Flores leopard and we are proud to celebrate her many accomplishments. Congratulations on this historic achievement as Los Flores's first ever board reporter and for being an inspiring example to our your peers and your community. Congratulations and thank you. So, please let's put our hands together and congratulations to all of our students for their hard work, dedication, and their achievements tonight. And that's the end of recognitions. Are there any amendments to the agenda? >> President Garza, there are no amendments this evening. >> Thank you. Um, it's time for the student spotlight. Mr. Cruz. There we go. Okay. I should know how to do that, right? Okay. Good evening, uh, board president GarcA, vice president Chrisfield, board members, uh, superintendent Dr. Simon, and executive cabinet. Uh, my name is

020Eddie Cruz, principal at Baxter Elementary. um proud to uh introduce our student of of the for the spotlight. Um we have uh Miss Mia who is going to be coming up. Um one thing I can say about Mia is that she has been a proud Baxter bear since kindergarten and is truly an outstanding student. She has two older brothers, uh two older siblings, sorry, Samantha and Eric. And at home, she enjoys spending time with her pets, a dog named Waffle, and a turtle named Urtle. In her free time, Mia loves playing outside with friends in her in her neighborhood, swimming, and expressing her creativity through drawing and coloring. That's Mia up there, Miss Mia Munos. Mia is incredibly hardworking, consistently gives her best effort in everything she does. She is kind, respectful to both peers

021and teachers and demonstrates a a strong sense of responsibility each day. Her work is frequently selected as an exemplar uh reflecting the care, dedication, and pride she brings to her learning. While Mia excels across all subjects, her favorite subject is um English language arts, especially writing, where her creativity and voice truly shined. This year, Mia was the winner of the women's writing competition, women's history month competition, where she wrote an inspiring essay about Malala Yusf uh Sai. Uh Mia chose Malala because she was moved by her advocacy for girls in education in Pakistan. Through her writing, Mia highlighted how Malala has been a powerful and positive influence for women around the world. The reason why she's here reading this uh essay is because we were supposed to be here in March and so she was

022our essay contest winner and so we got invited to come back in May. Uh so that was a nice surprise. So at this time I would like to call Mia to come up to read her essay, her winning essay. Malala Yusafsai is a very important woman activist. She began her activism at age 11 where she protested for women's education in her country. Her activism led to women being able to be well educated. Her exceptional determination got her the Nobel Peace Prize for her calm protests. Malala is a brave, inspirational, courageous woman that is well respected. Malala Yusafsa is known for being very courageous. She shows courage because she openly disagreed with the Taliban's protesting against females attending school. After this, it let girls and women study and go to school. She also kept going to

023school even after enduring many threats including numerous death threats. She was courageous also because she gave many powerful speeches about women's right to learn. Malala has inspired many people throughout their lives. She was an advocate for women's education which showed people women matter just as men do. She did not stay silent and stood up for girls for girls. Her actions proved that keeping girls rights was wrong. Because of Malala, many females and males became successful. Malala Yusafsa is very brave. At age 15, she was shot in the face. She survived this with many surgeries. Despite almost dying and facing death threats, she continued to advocate. This demonstrates that she is fearless. Malala Safsai should always be honored for women's women's history month. She is courageous because of her powerful voice and speeches. She is inspirational

024because of her determination on her journey. Malala is brave because she didn't give up even after what she went through. So, due to the push back of the uh board open session, um our student body president who's here, Aiden Santa Cruz, can you please stand? He was supposed to lead us in the pledge of allegiance. I just have to recognize him because him and mom, uh Miss Rosario Santa Cruz, can you stand up? She is a Baxar teacher as well. So we have the Baxar family here. So I know that you don't mind if I introduce them as well as they've come to support us. Thank you so much. Could could we have him come back possibly for the next meeting if possible? Thank you. Okay. Um, can we come on up and have you

025come take pictures, please? Next is our student board reporters. Representing Bfl High School is Steven Martinez. We can move on to um Ka Kayn Vera. Sorry about that. >> No worries. Good evening members of the board, board president Garza and Superintendent Dr. Simon. My name is Kaitlin Vera and I'm doing the Belfflower Mountain High School May board report at the at the end of at the end of April. Our students were able to attend prom. This year's theme was mass mass in the moonlight and it was hosted by ASB juniors. Pictured on the left is our prom king and queen Penelopey Salazar and Isaiah Aguular. The prom event was incredibly well done by our juniors. There was a lot for a lot to do for every type of person. We had an arcade at the

026loto lotos performing arts center. We had we had a characterist there and a huge dance floor. So, there's something there for everyone. Moving on to teacher appreciation week. Our our teachers were our teachers are supported by a spirit week that involved both dress up days and dress up days and lunch events. Our students were invited to write notes to their teachers and letters to show their support and how much they truly appreciate their teachers. Um, also our teachers were were awarded with the 74th anniversary shirt and pin. Moving on to National Principal Appreciation Day. Our ASB our ASB had decorated Miss Cummings office to show our support. We had given her flowers and a card. Moving on to 75th anniversary birthday bash. Our students and community members were welcomed onto campus with mariachi performances, photo

027booth opportunities and desserts. Justly vendors were there and students were and students and alumni were able to take student le tours which allowed them to walk the halls and relive some of their high school memories. CIF celebrations. Congratulations to our boys volleyball for making it to the second round or no to the semi-finals. And congratulations to our boys tennis tennis team for making it to the second round of CIF. Our last upcoming events of the year are our grad week. Starting in May starting at May 21st, our senior awards night. Seniors will receive all of their senior regalia. May 22nd is our senior celebration. Students and families are welcomed onto campus to celebrate their seniors during a breakfast event. May 29th is our legacy day and senior farewell. Our students or our seniors will be

028visiting their alma mater elementary schools wearing their cap and their gown. And additionally, we invited back to walk the halls one last time fully dressed up. And then a senior our senior farewell is our first ever senior fellow and it is um an assembly that is student led for our seniors just to mark the end of their high school experience. May 31st is our grad night which obviously our our seniors are going to Disneyland. They'll be there from 9:00 am to I think about 4:00 a.m. So basically over an entire day. June 1st is our 75th anniversary pin pickup. Students will be able to pick up their pins to mark that they are the 75th class graduating from Belfflower. June 2nd is our senior picnic and In-N-Out truck, photo ops, and more will be provided

029for our seniors. June 3rd is golf and stuff. and June 4th is obviously our graduation is the last time our class will be able to come together, come together and just celebrate our moment and our graduation. And I think that is it for tonight. Thank you so much, Miss Vera. We'll move on to um Mayfair High School, Gil Freedman. Good evening board members, President Garza, Superintendent Dr. Simon, district colleagues. Last one, baby. All right. Uh my name is Gil and here's Mayfair's May board report. So on the 24th we had our spring sports assembly which we had a bunch of performances from all of our spring sports and our spring programs and we played a couple games. I'm going to go back to the first slide because that game it was a little scary. I

030mean they weren't strapped in. The balls were flying all over kids falling on their heads. It was a little scary but you know we we we did take some precautions and everyone made it out very safe. I promise. reclassification was on the 30th where I believe 15 Mayfair students were reclassified. Those are students who entered our program as English learners and through a lot of hard work are able to be reclassified as fluent English speakers. So big congratulations to all of them. The middle school ASB hosted their first Hollywood themed semiformal called the monsoon gala. It was held on May 1st and during the dance students were able to vote for their gala king and queen. Prom was on the 2nd at the Fullerton hanger. It was super fun. The dance floor was packed. The

031snack tables were packed. I was there most of the No, no, no, no, no. It was it was it was a it was a really fun time. We had an arcade and bunch for the students to do. The department awards were held on the 4th. I think we had more than 80 students receive a department award. So, huge congratulations to all of those students. Star Wars day, May 4th. We um we had a Stormtrooper visit campus and so we thought we were all doomed. We thought that he was going to get us, but he was just there to tell us to wear our lanyards. So, that Yeah, that happened. The infamous Asian-American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander event was on the 8th. It was actually a lot of fun. We had the dragon dancers and a

032bunch of Asian food and a lot of people just showing off their cultures. We had performances from students and people all over the community. It was a great night. Coming up, we have our unified fest on the 15th, senior elementary visits on the 18th, grad night on the 29th, graduation practice on the 1st, finals week is from the 2nd to the 4th, the senior Catalina trip will be on the 2nd, and then graduation on the 3. Thank you so much, guys, for having me for the past two years. I I'm not sure if she's here, but our new board uh reporter has been picked, Miss Vanessa. She's a great student, so super excited for her to take over. Oh, she's here. Oh, hey, that's Vanessa. This is our next board reporter. So, good luck, Vanessa.

033You're going to do great. Thank you, Mr. Freriedman. Uh, representing Somerset High School is Jolene Lierra. >> Good evening, President Gaza, members of the board, superintendent Dr. Simon, and guests. My name is Jolene Liera. Thank you for the opportunity to share a quick update about some activities happening at Somerset High School. Somerset seniors went to Cerrito's College for a senior preview day on April 17th. They learned about all the programs offered at Cerritos and had opportunity to explore the campus. Seniors who participated in the field trip will be attending Cerritos in the fall. Our spring pickle ball tournament is underway. Teams are randomly created with both staff members and students. We are in the final brackets to see who will be the champions at the end of the year. Somerset juniors and seniors enjoyed attending

034prom at the Fullerton airport hangar with Mayfair and Certo's Performing Arts Center with Buffl High School. We appreciate the opportunity to participate at prom with the traditional sites. Somerset students are building their own longboards and skateboards using materials and curriculum from Gone Boarding. This is to this is a make and take activity. So students will be enjoying their skateboards and being able to take it home. Many summer students were recognized at spring awards for their good character and scholarly achievements. Seniors received $4,650 in scholarship money to help kickstart college and career paths. We had 40 teachers and staff and administrators visit us as part as a CCEA annual conference. They came to learn about the programs we offer at Somerset and make us a model continuation high school. One of our students is eligible for

035an additional scholarship because of our participation. We have a lot of upcoming activities. The senior barbecue is taking place next week. All Somerset students are invited to attend leadership day at the LA County Fair on May 21st. Um, students in film class will be showcasing their films that they made this year at the Kowanas Hall May 26th. Everyone is invited to come watch the films they made at 12:20 a.m. Then on May 27th, seniors are going to Disneyland to enjoy engaging theme park and design event. and we're looking forward to seeing our senior class graduate June 2nd at the Buffalo High School gymnasium. Last but not least, we want to thank the Somerset High School teachers for being kind, supportive, and student centered. Thank you so much and have a great evening. Thank you, Miss

036Leer. Um, now we have from Las Flores, Home Education Independent Study Academy, uh, Josana Torres. >> Um, don't mind my voice. I'm so sorry. Uh, good evening, board president, Myra Garza, board members, Dr. Simon, teachers, and students. This is Los Flores's May board report. So, our high school to took a field trip to Cal State Fullerton, which was such a fun and memorable experience. We all had a great time walking around the campus and exploring the different buildings and learning more about what college life is really like. Um, sorry. The campus was really beautiful and our tour guide Jaden made the tour even more enjoyable. I also liked hearing about the different programs and opportunities the school has to offer. Overall, the trip was both educational and entertaining, and it gave us all a better

037understanding of what we might want for our future. Okay. So, recently our ASB decided to do like a hideand seek game. So, we played three rounds of hideand-seek during lunch. It was like sardines edition, which I don't know if you know what that is, but I can't really explain it. So, but it was really fun and everybody had a great time. So, we'll probably do that again. And then our core programs, um, TK through first students celebrated the 100th day of school on May 7th. It took us, obviously, cuz we're not a traditional school, it took us a little, you know, more of a while to get to the 100th day, but they loved dressing up and they all looked so cute. And then, oh, sorry. Um, of course, we had our walk the theme

038event on Thursday. It was really interesting to see how um the students were creative with their artwork because we had to base a project off the theme of um a story, you know, not making it specific to one text. So, it was interesting seeing how they could make their project, you know, about a universal topic while still talking about things that we learned about um this year. We are proud to share that our school has earned the California Democracy School Distinction. This honor recognizes the dedication of our students and staff in a building in building a strong schoolwide commitment to civic education. Through this work, our sixth through 8th grade students developed important skills to become informed, responsible citizens who can evaluate and share credible online information. In today's technologydriven world, these skills are essential

039for ide identifying truthful information and recognizing bias. Students applied their learning through research projects that culminated in a community fair where they educated lawful students and families. We are excited to continue expanding civic learning opportunities and civil discourse across our entire school community. And then today was actually our ASB Knots trip, which is why my voice is a little messed up because I was screaming. Um, but we had a lot of fun. We were there from I think until it opened to literally 4:00, so I had to rush home and get last minute stuff done. But it's fine. We made it. It was really fun. Everybody had a great time. And yeah, it was nice being able to spend time, you know, on our first trip as an ASB together. And then coming soon tomorrow,

040we have our college and career day where students are able to learn about, you know, different careers from students parents or just, I don't know, people coming to the school. And then we're also gonna, you know, they're learning about colleges through, I think, Los Flores Legacies, which is basically like students who previously attended Los Flores. And then, of course, we have our senior breakfast awards and legacy day. On the 26th, and then our TK through first celebration on the 2nd of June, we have our Alice and Wonderland play for the 6th through 8th grade. on the 3rd and our high school graduations at Mayfair and Bellflower on the 3rd for Mayfair and the fourth for Bellflower and then 6th through 8th promotion um on the 5th. But yes, that concludes um May's board report. Thank

041you guys so much for um giving me this great opportunity to be a board reporter. It's such an honor and I'd like to thank also our lovely principal um Miza. Thank you all so much for giving me this opportunity. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Torres. Uh, thank you for your board reports. You are welcome to remain for the rest of the meeting. However, we understand you may have other obligations and are free to leave at this time. >> It's time for the superintendent's report. Dr. Simon. Thank you, President Garza, members of the board, cabinet staff, families, and our community members who are present. First, I want to wish all mothers, grandmothers, guardians, caregivers, and mother figures in our bail unified community a very happy, belated Mother's Day. Thank you for the love, strength, and support

042you provide to your students, your children, our students, and families every day. This evening, I'm going to share a few celebrations and acknowledgements from across the district. First, I had the honor of attending the CAC impact award ceremony where we recognize individuals who make a profound difference in the lives of students with disabilities across our mid city's Selpa community. On behalf of the Belflower Unified School District Board of Education, I was proud to welcome families, educators, staff, students, and partners from Belfflower Unified, Lynwood, and also Paramount Unified School Districts. I want to thank our SELPA partner superintendents, Dr. Patrick Giddis Rebongo of the Lynwood Unified School District and Dr. Joshua Laida Lido, excuse me, of the Paramount Unified School District for their partnership and continued commitment to students and families. The evening was a powerful

043reminder that inclusion is not simply a program or practice. It is a promise we make to our students, their families, and one another. The honores recognized that evening certificated staff, classified staff, and siblings of students with disabilities demonstrated extraordinary dedication, compassion, advocacy, and commitment to belonging. Their work may not always make headlines, but it impact is undeniable. I would also like to highlight my recent site visit to Woodruff Elementary School. It is also meaningful, always meaningful, to spend time on our campuses seeing teaching and learning in action and connect with the students and staff who bring our schools to life every day. Thank you to the Woodruff team for your warm welcome and for the care you show to our students. Tonight, I also want to congratulate Trisha Gutierrez, behavior assistant who received the unsung

044hero from CSCA. Mutierrez, thank you for the heart, the patience, and dedication you bring to your work. This recognition is welld deserved, and we are grateful for the difference you make in the lives of students and staff. We are excited to recognize, we were excited to recognize the city, not the city, Belfflower Middle Schools 75th birthday. Belfar Unified is proud to be a part of the community with such a rich history, strong partnerships, and deep commitments to families. This month also gives us an opportunity to express gratitude and celebrate the people who make our district strong. May is Asian-American, Native American, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. And we proudly honor the histories, the cultures, the contributions and achievements of our A&HPI students, staff, families, and community members. On May 1st, we recognized National Superintendent, excuse

045me, superintendent, school principal day. Excuse me, y'all. Let me go back. On May 1st, we recognized National School Principles Day. I want to thank our principles for their leadership, their dedication to students and staff, and their steady guidance of our school communities. We also celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week and the California Day of the Teacher to our teachers. Thank you for your dedication, your creativity, your compassion, and belief in our students. The work you do each day change lives and we are deeply grateful. Next week or the week of May 18th will also mark CEA appreciation week. Our classified employees are essential to the daily success of our schools and district. From classrooms to offices, nutrition services, transportation, maintenance, safety, and beyond, our classified staff support students, families, and colleagues in countless ways. We thank you

046and look forward to celebrating you. Tomorrow, we will have our final guiding coalition meeting of the year. A huge thank you to Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services, Miss Bonnie Carter, and Deputy Superintendent Dr. Ryan Smith for their collaborative leadership in this work and more to come on the final product of the guiding coalition. I would also like to recognize and we have him here today our security manager Sean Palos along with our fiscal director Rachel Dub and risk manager Susan Hu. our recent new hires for their work and support. Their commitment to safety, service, and collaboration is appreciated through our district. I'll now ask Mrs. Renee Arcus and Dr. Ryan Smith who will introduce our new employees more properly. >> Thank you very much, Dr. Simon. It is with great pleasure that I introduce Mr.

047Shawn Palos. Shawn brings a diverse background in both military intelligence and public safety leadership. He proudly served in the United States Army Reserve as an intelligence analyst where he developed strong skills in threat assessment, critical thinking, information analysis, and strategic planning in high pressure environments. Following his military service, he transitioned into public safety and has spent the last eight years serving as a crime prevention specialist for the city of Southgate. In that role, he focused on community engagement, emergency preparedness, crime reduction strategies, and building collaborative partnerships to enhance public safety outcomes. His combined experience in intelligence operations and municipal municipal public safety has shaped his ability to lead proactively, communicate effectively, and respond strategically to complex challenges. Mr. Palos is excited to step into the role of campus safety and emergency preparedness manager for the

048Belfflower Unified School District where he looks forward to helping foster a safe, secure, and prepared learning environment for students, staff, and the entire school community. Board members, please welcome Mr. Shawn Palos. Mr. Palos, would you like to say a few words? >> Yes, sir. From the bottom of my heart, I'd like to sincerely thank uh our board president um Miss Garza, uh the entire board, um Dr. Simon, and the rest of the cabinet. Thank you for your uh complete support and your warm welcomes. Um I feel like I could make a great difference in our uh district and just I'm really enthusiastic working and contributing to the greater good for our uh community. Thank you very much. Okay, Rachel, I'm gonna start with you. You want to come up to the podium, please? So, I

049have the distinct pleasure tonight of introducing two new members to the business department team, building on our fabulous work within the department and our already established great management team. Tonight I'll start with Rachel Dub who has been serving as our fiscal officer since or fiscal director since October. Apologies for the late the late bring on. She is originally from Taiwan and is a CPA, MBA and CASBO certified business official. She brings over 11 years of experience in school business management from the county office and nine years in private sector finance. She currently oversees budgeting, payroll, purchasing, and accounting operations. Rachel is passionate about building strong fiscal systems that support students and staff. She is also a proud mom of two children, one that is graduating from college and the other from middle school this year.

050When she's not crunching numbers, she enjoys cooking, gardening, singing, which was new to me, and catching up on sleep whenever she can. although she tends to take her spreadsh spreadsheets home with her and I have to remind her to get the sleep over the spreadsheets. Um Rachel the you have been such a fabulous addition to my department. I can't thank you enough for all that you've brought. I know our team is ecstatic to work with you and I'm really grateful for your leadership. So thank you. >> Thank you. So for Miss Garcia, I appreciate the opportunity I can be here to contribute my knowledge, my effort and to the BFL Unified District and this community. I appreciate the opportunity and my great boss all the superintendent like assistant all the cabinet. I appreciate everyone. Thank

051you. >> Susan, can I have you come forward? Thank you. So Susan has a very distinct background and I want to welcome her to Belfflower Unified as our risk management risk and benefits manager. Her background spans both education as a credentialed mild moderate education specialist and human resources as a PHR certified professional. She holds a degree in psychology with an emphasis in industrial psychology and brings experience in benefits, leaves, compliance, and risk risk management within the TK12 education system. When she isn't taking her dog on walks to keep him from chewing through the family's shoes, she's usually reading the fine print, untangling regulations, and finding intrigue in spreadsheets. We like spreadsheets in our department. She's excited about joining Bellflower Unified and looks forward to being able to meet everyone. Susan, I am grateful for your

052leadership. You have been here such a short time, but have taken on so many different tasks and have put them at the forefront of the operations. And for that, I am truly excited and ecstatic to be able to work with you. Thank you for bringing what you have to Belfower Unified. And welcome. >> Thank you, Dr. Simon, board members, cabinet members, I think this is an exciting opportunity and I look forward to working with everyone and and learning more about what makes Bellflower so unique and so amazing. So, thank you for this opportunity. >> Um, yes. Uh, can you can we take a picture with them, please? and board president Garza. I would also like to report that the Los Angeles County Office of Education has fulfilled the requirements for the third quarterly report for

053the 2025 2026 fiscal year in accordance with the Williams settlement legislation. The review address key areas including the sufficiency of instructional materials, facility conditions, the accuracy of data reported in the school accountability report cards, better known as the SARC, and teacher missing assignments and vacancies during this reporting period. No school site visits were conducted and results related to SARC verification and teacher assignments will be included in the annual report. Additionally, there were no uniform complaints received or reported in any of these areas. Thank you. >> Thank you, Dr. Sammon. Um, does the board have any ad hoc committee updates this evening? >> President Garcia, I do. Um, I have well two in a little bit. Um, climate and culture, we have been meeting and we're continuing to look at data and to pull data to

054still continue to work on our strategic equity plan. And then in Cal Apps, we are having our recognitions ceremony on May 20th and we are recognizing a little over 150 students for their completion of pathways and things of that sort. So, that was really cool. And then AI committee, I know we've talked about meeting. I hope that we can schedule um a committee meeting in the future. Thank you. >> I also would like to report out for our safety committee meeting. Um the safety committee members got to um be introduced to Sean Palos already, so welcome again. Um I think he's going to help continue the incredible work that we're already doing in the district. We also reviewed the workplace violence reporting um that is located on our district website. So, anybody that is interested

055in looking that over, interested in just reviewing it and looking at it, it's already on our website. Um we did talk about graduation ceremony preparation. Um and we're looking forward to the graduations. Yay. Um and then we reviewed uh well there was a um a presentation an updated presentation on the first year of the vape detection systems weeding out all the things that we need to weed out. um making sure that you know we're collecting the data, understanding how it's used, how to form, and that's really going to be reviewed under the safety um our safety team. And then uh there was a presentation about our threat assessment and protocols and we have a finalized reporting system. um or a debriefing system um and like the nature of the threats um including screening questions, decision-

056making, who was involved. So, it's a living document and it's already going to be used and then being tweaked over time. So, it's a living document. It's not a finalized document um so that it really meets the needs of our campuses. And then with that uh our next meeting, Dr. Smith, our next meeting is >> we do not have one scheduled quite yet. Right. So we >> because of graduation. >> Correct. So in the end of the school year and summer. So we will work on getting some new dates for that uh before the start of the next school year. >> Thank you. Thank you. I knew I missed that in the notes. Um and that's all >> if I could add uh board member Centron covered uh the whole meeting really well. Uh but

057one thing I I think in th that committee meeting and others is if we can get the presentation sent to the entire board because I I know we don't want to have a presentation at every board meeting with everything that the committees do because that takes away the whole point of the committees. But at least the presentation, the data on the the vape data specifically, if we can get that sent to the the entire boards just so we're on the same page as these things get updated and we move forward, that'd be great. >> Thank you, board members. Tonight, we have requests addressing agenda, non-aggenda items. We want the public to know that the board and superintendent will listen carefully to each public comment. However, we will not be providing responses during the meeting. The

058superintendent or a designated representative will contact the parent, guardian, and or community member if the comment may call for follow-up. While the meetings of the governing board are not public meetings, they are open to the public. Individual speakers will be allowed three minutes to address the board and Sorry. The board will limit the total time for public input to 21 minutes as bird as per board bylaw 9322.2 unless otherwise waved by the board. Can we please have John Paul Dreer come to the podium? >> Um John Paul Dreer, um Belfar High, class of 1980. I got to hold on to this. it's going to fall. Um, I attended the teacher appreciation night at Miram in downtown Belfare with Dr. Simon and we thank uh the community member who put that together and I think some

059other people need to be appreciated as employees that are kind of overlooked because they don't have representation to negotiate with the board or or administration. Um some of my neighbors are substitute teachers in the district and there's also substitute um secretaries, custodians and by some laws in some districts they don't allow them to be represented by unions. Um but some districts like LA Unifi where I worked um they allowed substitutes to be um given um the rights to be neg their contract to be negotiated with the union and also to provide them if they work a 100 days they are given um benefits retirement. My friend she retired after 22 years and she got healthc care benefits. Um, I think we need to show our appreciation for these unsung heroes in other ways. And also

060like they don't get a raise. They don't have negotiations for an ongoing raise like the other groups. It's not as formalized. We sometimes we forget about them. At Srias College, we created um a step ladder for um if they get more education or they have more years of service, part-time teach professors could get raises that way similar to a full-time professor. So, I hope uh I just want to, you know, put this idea out there as we balance our three-year budget to think about our um substitute employees in classified and in certificated and how to show more appreciation for them with the high cost of living and inflation at 6% last month. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Dreer. Can we please have Amanda Ayala come to the podium, please? Hi, good evening. Um, I've

061never done this before. I'd first like to apologize my family and I've had a long day um saying goodbyes to a family member. So, although I'm pleased to be here, it may not look that way. And thank you for acknowledging us, our mothers. Uh, my name is Amanda Ayala. I'm a parent of two children currently attending Steven Foster. I'm here on behalf of the upcoming changes being made to the current vice principal, Miss Jackson. I have no understanding as to the reason why, but if we all know Miss Jackson and the impact she's made to foster, then we can understand my reasoning for being here tonight. Some of you may have seen my post on Facebook. Um, I recently shared expressing my concerns of this change. And as mentioned within that post, the impact it

062will have on my child as well as many others. Um, as a mother of a special needs child who currently receives support services at Foster, I'm very concerned with this change. Not because others may not be as qualified as Miss Jackson and the district needs and or the district needs may superside my supersede my request, but because making this drastic change of not just one principal, but both may be detrimental to his daily routine and affect his learning abilities. Uh, there's been many days Miss Jackson has made my son's day achievable. She creates a safe haven for my son, enabling his comfortability in being at school, allowing for his learning and growing. Removing her and her support will definitely require me to re-evaluate the school's decision-making, as this will be the sixth principal in less

063than 10 years um andor look into other education options that fully support our special need children and or possibly homeschooling to ensure his safety, well-being, and consistency and his routine in structure are affordable. I'm sorry, attainable. I'm asking as a parent who wants to continue to keep her children at Steven Foster to please reevaluate the changes that may need to take place. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you, Miss Aella. Um are we able to put the timer on the screen? >> Okay, the zoom. Okay, thank you. Um we now ask um Amy Mustafa to come forward please to the podium. >> Uh President Garza, board members, Dr. Simon, cabinet, um colleagues, and the community. Um, I'm here tonight because I'm concerned with the district's approach to bargaining with the Belfflower Teachers Association. At

064this as this school year comes to a close, BTA came to the bargaining table prepared, organized, and ready to negotiate in good faith. We expected the same level of preparation and commitment from the district. The May 1st bargaining date was cancelled because the district was not prepared to provide a counter proposal for salary. This sends a discouraging message to the educators who have spent the entire school year supporting students, managing increasing demands, and continuing to show up every single day for our students. Teachers deserve more than delays and stalling tactics. We deserve respect and serious engagement at the bargaining table. The facts are clear. The state COLA is 2.3%. COLA is a cost of living adjustment meant to offset inflation. It is not a raise. In addition, the district's unodudited actuals show two years in

065a row $50 million was budgeted for health insurance, but only $45 million was spent. This tells us that there's an extra $5 million in the budget. This shows us there are resources available. The question is not whether the money exists. It's whether the district is willing to prioritize the classroom and the people who make student learning possible. We continue to hear about valuing students and academic success. Teachers are the foundation of that success. This community expects better. Educators expect better. We're asking the district to stop delaying, come to the table prepared, and make meaningful proposals that reflect the dedication of the Belfflower teachers and the needs of our students. The school year is ending. Our students, families, and educators deserve a resolution that demonstrates respect, urgency, and a real commitment to public education. Thank you.

066>> Thank you, Miss Mustafa. Do we have any items to withhold from the consent agenda this evening? >> I have one 11 11.17. Is that correct? >> Yes, please. >> Any others? >> I have a few. Um 11.13, 11.14, 117, and that's it. Anyone else? So, do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda with the exception of items 11.13, 11.14, and 11.17? >> You have that motion. >> Second. >> Roll call, please. >> Student member Chik, >> I. >> Miss Armstrong, >> I. >> Miss Stewart, >> I. Mrs. Centron >> I. >> Mr. Critchfield >> I. >> Mrs. Garza >> I the first item withheld is 11.13. >> Okay. >> Thank you, Madam President. Um, so I pulled this one. Just a couple questions. I know this policy aligns more with the state

067policy of uh increasing what we consider a a inventory item to track from 500 to 1500. I know the policy also talks about uh the schedule in which we're supposed to do inventory tracking and it says every year we have a list that gets sent uh and then every two years we do a physical. Um I just want to make sure uh with with this are we uh doing the annual list in the when was the last time we did a physical inventory of all of our assets? So we are doing the annual we are doing the annual list and that's one of the things that the auditor comes in and checks. So we are doing that portion of it. Um we have not had a physical inventory since I've been here and we're working

068on scheduling one now. So >> it been more than two. >> It has been more than two. Sometimes that does happen. We've spoken with our auditors about the numbers and they've been able to look at some of the documents that we needed and that's why we're proceeding with getting one on the books. Okay. Yeah. I just want to make sure especially as they raise the limits of these things. Uh it just means that we we have to have more oversight. And I uh I'm not opposed to changing the policy, but I think it's just part of the oversight, making sure everything is being tracked and utilized. Um and I was going to pull the other one, but it's uh it's similar. So, I'll just ask it here. when we get the the list of the

069items that are being uh either recycled or sent to auction, um one of the things I think is missing from that is the either the original purchase price of those items or a depreciated cost just so the board has a better understanding of the lifespan of these products when we do purchase them because many of them are recurring. But I think going forward as we kind of tighten our belt buckle and look at these things, I think it's just good information for the board uh to to know and uh I'd like to request when we do send these to auction um the I would like to see the amount of uh the recycled or the trashed items that we're we're going through as uh along with how much we're actually recouping from these auctions because

070I I'm assuming it's a very small portion. that we're actually getting back when we sell these on auction, right? >> Yeah. And the last year we collected about $13,000 from items that were auctioned and we also collected 2,700 in e-waste surplus. So, we have been collecting things for which we can I will say some of these lists are are actually documenting things that are pretty darn old. If you're familiar with technology, which I know you are, you'll see a lot of these are kind of, you know, gone through the process. So, we will look into what additional information that we can provide on these surplus um disposal lists. Um some of them, if they're under the threshold, they won't have a depreciated value because we're not tracking a depreciated value. But let me see what

071I can come up with and I'll share that with the board. >> Okay. Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Any other questions, comments? >> Thank you. Um do I have a motion to approve this item? >> So moved. Second roll call, please. >> Student member Chik, >> I. >> Miss Armstrong, >> I. >> Miss Stewart, >> I. >> Miss Cron, >> I. >> Mr. Critchfield, >> I. >> Mrs. Garza, >> I. >> The next item withheld is 11.14. Does the board have any questions or comments? >> I do. Thank you, Madam President. Um, with this one, uh, first of all, thank you for all the work that's being done in transportation. And I saw that we just hired a bus driver on the other item. Awesome. I know we're still working really hard on that.

072Um with with the the policy on transportation, the one thing that I've asked for, I know it's it's difficult to do is the physical map of where the home schools are. And I know that there's uh a way the system can kind of find that information, but a I I think I've seen one before. So I when it comes to mapping out uh how people are designated a homeschool um and how that would affect the mile radius the mile quarter radius in these maps I think would be really helpful because I wouldn't want uh at the end to see a disproportionate effect on certain areas of our district or certain communities. So I think it'd be really important to get that information before uh approving this type of change. Uh, uh, Vice President Critfield, you

073are referencing the school locator map, correct? >> I don't think so. >> Okay. Which one? >> What? What is it? The school locator map. >> Well, as part of our process, we've been working on something. Um, actually, our PIO has been doing a lot of work on a map um that we will have available so that students can find their schools. But I think that you're referring to delaying this because they there's not a mileage map for the distance of each. >> I guess I'm trying to ask what that is. I've never seen something like that. >> When it when it comes to um how people are designated a home school, is it by mile radius to that school? How do when somebody moves into an area and they and we we tell them that

074this is your home school is that >> like what do we use? Is it like a main street kind of map how our trustee maps are where it's divided up at some point? We just kind of keep it is it adjusted with population as that changes or is it more of like a mile, you know, a mile and a half radius to that school site so we know that they're staying local to that school? >> It's it's a boundary. So when these are created and I don't know how long ago the one here was created. I have worked in a previous district that had reddone the boundaries through a process. So it's a process of obviously we want the students that are in the area that are closest to those school site locations. And so

075that's when the map is created. And so a lot of the times you do use obviously it's main streets or something that you can designate. In my neighborhood alone, the the other side of the street goes to one school, but my side of the street goes to another elementary school. So, there's lines that that are designated, but I don't know that they're specifically developed with miles to, you know, walking distances to schools, but I'm sure that they're obviously developed to have the tightest location to that school. >> So, it sounds kind of like how our how our trustee maps are are made. At some point there was a study done to kind of make sure that our schools have equal uh or some type of proportionality. Probably what I would I mean just like they

076just like we do uh you know uh electoral maps when we talk about uh especially the impact of transportation or even just enrollment in general. If we updated our uh study on where families are and where the densely populated ones are, that really should go handinhand with our facilities master plan as we have those discussions to see where our kids are living in proximity to different schools. So, it's it kind of touches the transportation thing like I don't know if uh one site has a map where it's actually a three mile radius for that map. So that school is going to be a lot more impacted uh with uh transportation and other school sites are much more condensed. I don't know what that looks like. So that's kind of what I'm like asking for is

077like the either an updated map or it sounds like one's already in existence because that's probably what was inputed into the system. If we could find that that would be amazing. So, we do have the map, but I know that our PO PIO is actually working on um a school locator so that when parents type their address in, it would tell them specifically which school they should be um attending. So, that should be up in about two weeks. We had some hiccups um but we did use um an AI system to allow us to do that. So, that should be up and ready to go in the next two weeks. Will it be able to visualize where the boundaries of the that school are? Would you kind of have to like plug in a bunch

078of addresses and kind of like kind of approximate? >> I'm not sure, but I will ask our PIO and get that information to you hopefully by tomorrow. >> Okay. >> And just to be clear, it is if the school locator has the actual boundaries and put it in the system. Is that the exact >> Yeah, I guess if you to use like say a a trustee map, you know, as an example, uh it's the clear boundary of if you live in this area, this is your home school. Um and I'd even take a step further. I think that's something that we should look at of a new uh demographic study to see if our school home schools are proportional. So whether in the future we're talking about uh the possibility of more transportation changes or

079even um school closures in the future, we we need to have that information when we talk about how we divide things up in our district. So I think that's a study that's worth having and it'll give us a lot of insight, probably help us inform a lot of different decisions that we're not even thinking of right now. >> Thank you. Any other questions, comments? Rea, >> I guess um I was talking with Vice President Crutchfield earlier. If you put an address in and it tells you where there are, then it seems like there would have to be boundaries already created for the for the system to know where that address would fall. So, we're wondering if you could even ask it to create those boundaries so that they're Do you know what I'm saying? Yeah.

080Any other questions, comments? Um, do I have a motion to approve this item? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Roll call, please. >> Student member JKE. >> I. >> Miss Armstrong. >> I. >> Miss Stewart. >> I. >> Miss Cron. >> I. >> Mr. Critchfield. >> No. >> Mrs. Garza. I um the next item withheld is 11.17. Does the board have any questions or comments? >> I have a few. Um my first question is on the last page number 11. I think some of our community members were a little confused because it says $29 million and it says goalpost for the practice field. How much were the goalposts? I know they weren't $29 million. I hope no. >> No, it it indicates the original amount of the contract out and then the new amount. So,

081the goalposts are 59 million. 59,661. Ay, I see what you did. >> Okay, 59,000 sounds a lot better. >> And I did that math in my head before I said million. >> Okay, that was the first thing I just wanted to clarify. Um, secondly, I think you guys know where I'm going with this one. I in looking at our budgets and the fact that we have not looked at programs, we have not looked at our budget in detail. I just that $628,000 for the capturing kids hearts. I like the program. I've used the program. I admit as a teacher, I didn't know how much the program was. It's sad to say that our student board member didn't even know what it was. I've heard teachers say that they feel like we can do a lot

082of this on our own and $628,000 when we're looking at our budget. I just I think that should be tabled or we should come back and look at something that high. So, I would vote no on this only because of that one contract at the moment. I do want to share that the capturing kids hearts the second round um we're using one-time funding for that. So it's our learning recovery block grant funding that we're actually going to use to pay for that. >> I get that, but I'm wondering if we could use one-time funding in other places. I don't know that because we haven't had a discussion regarding that. And again, I like capturing kid hearts, kids hearts. But when I'm looking at the budget and I'm looking at negotiations, when I'm looking at all

083of the different things that we've Where's the surveys that we ask the the teachers for, do they use things like this? We we're waiting for surveys from our teachers on the products on the things that they use. I don't have all of that information to approve something this high in light of what's going on right now. >> I appreciate that. and we do have the surveys and we're completing that report for you. Um, and capturing kids hearts came out on the professional development survey as one of the higher ones. And so that's why we went towards that area and we knew that we were going to use one-time funding for it. It was the continuation of um, one of the things that we are trying to do is have ongoing PD, right? In the past,

084we've done one-time PD and then we don't follow up with it. and that is one of the problems that we're trying to rectify. So, this is the second round of that. There isn't a third round to that. Um, this includes also um traction visits so that our sites can get that coaching piece and it includes the online version. So, moving forward into the following year when that one-time funding isn't there, we wouldn't be doing the full site trainings, which is why this cost is so high. just to give some background >> and I don't know I don't want to add a whole bunch of work to you guys but I don't know if it's some way we can reference because I don't know what's onetime funding and what's not onetime funding when I look at

085these contract lists in this fashion right >> I totally get it like I've been to PDs I like capturing kids hearts but did we ask the teachers or did we tell the teachers how much it cost before we asked them because if you would have told me the cost before you asked me I might have had a different opinion just being honest Anyone else questions, comments? >> Yeah, I have one question on another contract. All right, so the the LEO community schools contract. So when I was reading through the contract, it says it's there's no cost. Then when I was reading the contract, it says services rendered are in exhibit A. Then I go to exhibit A and it's a blank piece of paper. So I just like when it comes to what I want

086to do is understand what the agreement is that we're entering into. If we're not giving them anything and they're not saying what they're giving us, like I don't understand like the purpose of of that contract. So if you could help me out, that'd be great. 11.7. >> So, Dr. Yoa, I would have to um get in contact. She's not here today to see get more information. Excuse me, Vice President Crushfield. I don't believe there's any cost associated with that as it is uh Leakl's grant that they offer and give to um school districts. >> Totally get that there's no cost but there's also it doesn't say that like we're receiving anything either. So I'm just curious like why do we have a contract if there's nothing to agree on? Like what is the obligation when

087we sign our name on a piece of paper when we say we're entering in this contract? Like what is our obligation? what's their obligation? What is the agreement? >> Um, Mr. Critfield, I can uh answer that. So, sometimes these contracts are entered into for liability purposes. Um, there are certain liability shifting that's done. And that's why, you know, LEO with every district uh enters into contracts even for services that they render that are cost-free um because they sometimes place uh certain liabilities on the district uh for certain services that they provide and that's kind of how they're able to provide those free of charge. Um, I did just pull up the uh the contract um that you were mentioning and the uh the description of services exhibit A is uh is left under I believe

088uh the amendment number one and amendment number two which are memorandums of understanding. Um and those kind of define some of the uh the terms used in the contract. But yeah, the the answer short answer to your question is that the reason we get into these contracts and have them sign them which uh was actually part of uh the district's templated contract is to be able to provide certain provisions what happens in case of uh um you know certain incidents occurring and who bears the responsibility along with uh insurance requirements as well. >> Thank you Mr. Sura. Uh, okay. So, that that helps. So, it's more of um it's more of a liability waiver. It's more of like a agreement like a C ca uh for things that they're not obligating themselves to necessarily, but

089in case there is services that they provide, we have the insurance in uh verbiage in there. We have the uh liability verbiage. So, it's kind of getting that out of the way. Is that what it sounds like? that that is correct and again the the goal of of any legal counsel for any entity is to try to mitigate um liability but sometimes that comes with the balancing act. Um if you're not spending money on a on a service um then you're probably willing to accept a little additional liability in order to get that service at cost. Um, and so again, it's it's based on the district's templated contract, which actually um protects the district uh more so than the provider. >> Great. Thank you. And I'm I'm looking at amendment number one and amendment number

090two, and it still doesn't it still doesn't acknowledge any services or any exchange of services. So, um I I I take I take what the purpose of this it sounds like. Um, but maybe if we we could uh request some more information on what that agreement looks like when it comes to our agreement with the county and and the community schools agreement, what we're doing there. Uh, that would be helpful for myself. >> Yeah. And um I could I could be mistaken, but I'm I'm fairly certain that Dr. Yoat uh does have that and she would have uh more information for you, which I'm sure the uh staff can provide in a in a Friday memo as well. >> Great. Thank you. That's all my questions. >> Anyone else have any comments? >> Yes. Um

091well, I had a question or a follow-up question um for the previous uh part number three. the um do uh Miss Carter, you said that you've received the data from the programming from the teachers and things like that and you're getting ready to present that information. Do you have a timeline to when that's going to happen? >> Yeah, the timeline for that is June. And uh just for clarification, capturing kids hearts is not part of that um look because it's not we were looking at vendors and platforms that we were using. So that is part of it. Um capturing kids hearts itself. It was the professional development that we were looking to provide for our um whole staff um uh welcome back professional development day. And so we were using the professional development survey that

092we sent out previously as information to make that selection. >> Okay. So it was already indicated a while back that this was a program that the teachers really appre the sites really appreciated. >> It rose to the top. Yeah. And so this and the first session as well was highly regarded by teachers um based on the feedback that was given during those um trainings. And so based on those two things and based on the um just the role that we're trying to make and having um coherent PD that doesn't stop with the first time. Uh we wanted to provide it at this full staff meeting when we had everybody here and the ability to do that. Um also knowing that we had that funding available to be able to make it happen for this year.

093So that's our goal. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Any other questions? I have one. Um, can you tell me how much level one was for capturing kids arts? >> It was about the same. >> And can you tell me what funding it comes from? >> Sorry. I believe the first year was learning recovery block grant as well. I would have to verify to make sure I'm not misspeaking. >> So if the recovery block fund was the first one, it would be coming out of the same for the second. We would assume. Yes. >> Okay. Thank you. You're welcome. No more questions, comments. Okay. Um, do I have a motion to approve this item? >> So moved. >> A second. You were talking about 11.17. >> Yes, I second it. Yes. >> Roll call,

094please. >> Student member. >> I. >> Miss Armstrong. >> I. Miss Stewart, >> no. >> Miss Cron, >> I >> Mr. Critzfield, >> I >> Mrs. Garza, >> I. >> We now move on to board communications. Let's begin with student member Chibique. Um, tonight I don't don't really have much to say except for I just want to recognize our AP students. Regardless of where they may be, regardless of what school they may be, I just want to recognize them for the work they're doing cuz AP testing started last week. I had uh the GV test last week, but I know there are many others that have taken a bunch of other AP. So, I just want to recognize them for all the hard work. Season's almost over. Let's finish strong. Thank you, board member Chibik.

095Um, board member Armstrong. >> Thank you, President Garza. Well, the school year is winding down and um, as a teacher, I just want to um, you know, it's it's funny how the the pre the principles and the the staff and the teachers, we get all these recognitions at the at the end of the year. So, but I me being a teacher, I just want to reflect this much that you know like educators, we help to build the future of our democratic society and thus strengthen our republic by educating the whole child academically, emotionally and socially. teachers. We spend countless hours planning, organizing, and presenting lessons, providing feedback, and spending our own money on educational supplies and resources. I have some boxes at my house right now preparing for my little promotion for my babies at

096school. Teachers, we inspire and encourage students to mature and grow, learn and share what they have learned with others. Educators make a positive impact on their communities and the world. And I and I say this because even reflecting on some of my my own children, I um I had I had one child, one of my one of my five children had a teacher speak to me because she wasn't performing as the other teachers reported she would. I mean, she had and her performance didn't match like her not even her test scores. And so because of that teacher show of that concern of course came to me and like you know she's not performing what's going on it's not what her teachers previous teacher said and not her test scores and so I I appreciated that

097teacher coming to me with that and I spoke to my child and I never had a problem from then on. was early in elementary school, so I never had a problem out of out of her again with what was expected of her by her teachers. And I have to say, yes, she's so far very successful in her career. So, I want to, you know, I'm not going to call names, but she went to Ernie Pile, Baxter and Ernie Pile. And um so but with that being said, I I can't leave out, you know, the support that the teachers get from the principles. You know, I' I've communicated with with other teachers. I say, you know, I look at I look at principles like my parents. If I need something, I go to them. If they

098want me to have a successful program, this is what I need. and and that's a that's the support all teachers need. And so our principles are really our our mouthpiece to the staff to make sure we have what we need. But I really do appreciate the teachers uh making an impact in actually all of my children's life. I don't want to go down the line because it's five of them. So, um, again, thank you to all the teachers, all of the the the support staff, and the principles. Um, I don't want to forget nurses. It was uh they had a national school nurse day uh earlier this month in May. And um in my part of where I work in the school, I do work with nurses. And um actually my training was with with

099a lot of doctors and nurses because of the population that I do teach. So it's really important because our school nurses care for all of our students whether their conditions are chronic or acute, whether they're caused by injury or illness. So nurses work to promote prevention of illness and and this and to step in and a pro and provide the appropriate care for our students with physical challenges. So you know just all these different pieces it really you know brings us all together to provide for the whole child. And um lastly I don't want to forget about mental health. If you guys know me, I talk about mental health all the time. This is mental mental health awareness month. So, um, you know, for everyone, be kind. One may seem to be strong and secure,

100yet many things are brewing. All of us have life to contend with, and it's important to know that you can only begin change with yourself. So look inward and assess yourself to think of ways you can be a better individual. Be mindful of others and don't go to measures to hurt or to try to hurt others. If you are that indiv individual that sets out to harm others in any way, please seek mental health resources to begin your healing journey. And remember to be kind. So, I um I just wanted to put that all out there. I could go on and on, but that's going to be it for me. Uh yay to the winding down of this school year. We really do have a lot of fun activities coming up. And I am planning

101to I guess stretch stretch myself as thin as I can so that I can participate, you know, with some of our activities here at Bellflower because, you know, I have my obligation at my job too. So anyway, thank you all for being here. Thank you. >> Thank you, board member Stewart. Board member Cintro. >> Um I haven't gone yet. >> I'm sorry. Board me. Thank you, board member Armstrong. Board member Stewart. >> Good evening. Um I just wanted to say happy teachers appreciation week last week to all of our teachers and happy CSCA appreciation week coming up soon. On April 29th, I attended the Belfare High School 75th anniversary celebration. Thank you to Miss Cummings and her team. The mariachi band performed, which was awesome. I was able to visit some of our classrooms. Thank

102you to the student leaders that gave my friends and I tours. I was finally able to get into the flight simulator, which is a very cool opportunity for our students in the aviation pathway. And I met some other alumni that night, and it was just a really good experience. So, I really had a lot of good times at that um special celebration. May 7th, I attended the Community Family Guidance C Center's 50th anniversary and children's benefit. Thank you to Bill Cinco and Victor Sanchez and their staff for dedicating so much time and resources to our students and helping children with their mental health. It was nice to join my colleagues and Vice President Critville made a really cool video in the partnership with the organization that highlighted their why and their outstanding employees that they

103have in the center and they have touched many lives for the better and I appreciate what they do. I met with some of our BTA members last week to listen to some of their concerns regarding the upcoming school year, staffing and contract times, salaries, benefits, administrative changes, and more. I realize that I am only one person on the board and I do not always agree with BTA and I do not always agree with my district, but I will always be there to listen to the positive and concerns and continue to fight for what I believe is right and respectful. Tuesday, I attended the PTA historian mixer. I love the energy of our PTA. You guys are amazing. They always had the cutest themes for their celebrations and they had another great one. It was nice

104to see all the events, the assemblies, and how each unit gives back to our families and students throughout the year. And then lastly, I just wanted to give a thank you to Dr. Simon for all of the hard work that you do and your staff has been doing. I know as a board we ask you to do a lot and we appreciate you. I believe that we hit the jackpot when we hired you and I hear so many great things from our community partners, our parents, our employees, and our students about your leadership. So, thank you for leading with experience, with kindness, with respect, and collaborating with our board. Thank you for making our students feel heard and always listening to anyone that wants to talk to you. I know that I have 29 years

105in the education industry, but I also recognize that I do not have near as much experience as you and especially the way that you lead. So, thank you so much. Um, I don't believe you'll ever be perfect, but I don't believe that um we'll find someone better than you. So with your work ethic, your integrity, I believe that you're doing great things. So thank you. Um, and also I realize that technically I may be your boss, but I do see you as my as and your cabinet as my partners. So I just wanted to say thank you for that in the journey. And last, I just wanted to um apologize for myself on just behalf of myself. Um, it just seems that like we're continuously starting our meetings late and I've had people talk to

106me about it and I realize that and I just want you guys to understand that I hope that we can change that in the future. I respect and value our community and their time and I hope that we'll start on time and if we have to go back into close session after that we take that from our time and not your time. So, I just want to myself personally apologize for the times that we've been starting these meetings. Thank you so much. Thank you, board member Stewart, board member Cron. Um, a lot has been going on the last few weeks. I think everybody is just really busy and trying to wind down and get everything done. Um, so I just want to again congratulate everybody that was recognized tonight, all of our staff and our

107teachers and our classified classified next week. Yay. Um, so I'm one of them. I'm one of them. But you know what what I do, my 9-5. Um, so, um, thank you for all you do. I do recognize you. I see you. And I just want to say that I really appreciate our cabinet once again. Um, I would go down the list of the things and the people that I've talked to and things like that, but I just feel like everybody's just it's just like a cloud right now for me. Um, so I don't know dates or anything like that. I did attend the charity. Um, and it was great. That was the first time that I actually attended the charity event. And um, I thought it was interesting. Um, I'd love to see how much

108we actually collaborate and meet the people that we collaborate with and seeing how many people are involved, especially um, our legislators, so our Congress people and our Senate people. Um, that was really cool to to just be a part of that. So, I just want to say thank you and I recognize AAPI. No, I'm missing letters. Yeah. Yes. What? I feel like I just I'm just missing letter. I'm just missing a lot tonight. Anyway, um so I just want to recognize um and honor the culture. It's incredibly beautiful and I know that our cities are actually doing a lot of work and I love to see that our communities on campuses are able to um involve our students and introduce them to new cultures. So, um let's just wrap down and get ready for graduation.

109>> Thank you, board member Cynthron, Vice President Crieldfield. >> Thank you, Madam President. Uh few things I went I went to um really cool to go to the Belfar High School 75th anniversary. Uh want to say thank you to Principal Cummins for setting up such a great event. Uh it was great to see and it was also great to hear from uh alumni that are still making a difference in our community. Uh we heard from uh Dan Coops and our very own uh Miss Amy Stewart spoke. Um, so it's I think it really speaks to the the family nature in in in our district and and how people stick around and always come back and give back. Uh, open house at Lindström. That's always fun. I think my daughter showed me uh everything in the

110in the room that night. Uh, that's always fun to do just as a just as a dad. Um, and then the CFGC 50th anniversary. Uh definitely honored to be a part of that se celebration and thank you to Bill Sinko and and Victor Sanchez for all the work that they do. I hear a lot of great things about CFGC and how they work with our kids and their mental health. And this being uh mental health awareness month, I I think it's really important. One of the things uh and and Miss Stewart brought it up. I I made a video for them and we talked a lot about dstigmatizing mental health and what that means and kind of normalizing uh people seeking help. Uh so I think that's a really important thing to do to talk

111about it. So like me myself like I see a therapist regularly and I absolutely love to do it. Uh it's actually hard to find a therapist sometimes but there's this app and like it's rua.com I think. Uh and it just makes it super easy and then just to have somebody to talk to somebody to really provide perspective on things. It's really a way to uh just level up like your entire uh day-to-day and your life and your perspective. It's a really great thing and I think anybody that uh is like thinking about it should reach out to somebody and and seek some some guidance, collaboration and help. So, um also thank you to our teachers and our classified for showing up tonight and thank you to our staff. Uh I know this is a super

112busy time of year. I know there's a lot of work that's, you know, still got to be done with graduations and everything. So, just want to say thank you for the big uh the the hard push at the end and I'm very uh confident that we're going to have a strong finish to this year and we're going to go into summer uh stronger as a unified team as we navigate this last push and all the conversations to come. So, thank you for being here tonight and everything that you do. Thank you, Vice President Critfield. Um, as for myself, I was able to attend the CAC Impact Awards, the Somerset High School Senior Awards. I also attended the um, CFGC children's benefit, and I was able to attend open houses for Ramona, Albert Baxter, ILC, Jefferson,

113Lindström, and Foster Elementary. Um, thank you so much teachers, staff, and also to our current um, our cap executive cabinet um, superintendent Dr. Simon. Um, I think that um, we have now, like I said before, we are now in this journey together and we are very excited to see what else we are able to um, do more for our communities. and it's just a good time that um I think I'm just rambling now, but thank you so much for um coming tonight. Appreciate your support and your patience with us as we move forward. And we're all looking forward to those exciting graduations. So, thank you so much and please teachers and staff members and our support staff as well, CSEA, um make it fun. It's almost the end of the school year and you're we're

114almost done. Byebye. Um at this time we will um the board will recess to close session. There will be no further action taken in open session. Thank you. We reconvene to open session at 11:48 p.m. and resume the regular order of business. Board member um sorry board clerk Cron would you please? The topics assessed in close session were public employee discipline, dismissal release, public employee appointment and labor negotiation. No action was taken in close session. Thank you board members and board clerk in throne. If there is no obje objection, this meeting is adjourned at 11:48 p.m. until the next regular board meeting on Thursday, May 28.