001Good afternoon and welcome to this afternoon's regular meeting of the Education Board. This meeting starts at 4 pm. Student member, Astron member, present. Member Citron, present. Secretary Crensch, Vice President Garza, present. President Start, present. We have no requests for comments this afternoon on items on the closed session agenda. At this time the table will be withdrawn to closed session. The open session will resume at 6 pm. Welcome everyone. We will start the meeting at 4 for the closed session and we will start the open session at 6:1 minute. We're going to talk about the topics from the closed session. Thank you, Madam President. The topics we discussed in the closed session were anticipated litigation, negotiations, labor and discipline, and the board took no action in the closed session. Tonight for the flag oath and also
002the emphasis of the students, we have Jason Haris here. Thank you for being here. Please stand up. I swear allegiance to the flag of the United States of America of the Republic, which stands for one united and indivisible nation, with liberty and justice for all. You may take a seat. Thank you. We don't have replacement pages tonight . Do we have any amendments to the agenda? No, we don't have any. So let's return to the student emphasis. We are going to recognize senior Jason Harris, the second in high school. Hello everyone, I'm Lora Contés, I'm a counselor at Bill Flower High School. It is a great pleasure to introduce Jason Harris as Bill Flower High School's outstanding student of the year. I have known him for 6 years. It has been a privilege from the
003beginning. He stood out as a very remarkable man. Uh, I remember the confidence he had and how he set his goal as an ambitious student. She was planning her future and intentionally showing immaturity since the ninth grade, which is uncommon. Jason is flexible, patient, and erudite. His leadership skills are impressive. He has great aspirations, resilience, and a great desire to prosper. I am confident that he will continue to be successful in the future and I wish him all the best as he moves forward. Good evening everyone. My name is Jason Harris, the second oldest, and I am currently in my senior year at Bell Flower High School. A little bit about how I was created in Inflower California, but I didn't go to elementary school here. I went to Ambler Avenue in the city of
004Carsen. And now that I'm in high school, I've been at Belf for 4 years with two additional years in middle school in seventh and eighth grade. And regarding sports, I played basketball, soccer, and baseball. I would have also played hockey, but they didn't have it here in Southern California, but I do love sports, 100%. A few facts about me. My favorite NFL team is the 49ers. We could have lost seven times. I would still be a complete fan. Uh, I've been to professional hockey, baseball, soccer, and basketball games and matches, so this shows how much I love sports. And also in a week I'm going to play a role in a play . It's a musical work, being Chad. Well, I never thought I'd do it, but I love taking on challenges, so it'll be
005worth it. I have been to Disney World before with my cousin and my two grandparents who are here. And finally, the basketball season of the past. This time, I scored the final goal and we ended up winning the league for the first time since 1978. One of my achievements. I am a mentor in Bellfow for those in high school who need guidance or know which path to take to stay on the right track. This is my third year doing this, and as I said, I also helped my league win the championship, which hadn't been done since '78. Regarding where I was accepted, I actually got into Arizona State University, in the business department, and at about 3:30 yesterday I checked my email and I was also accepted to LSU. I would n't say I was
006surprised because I do believe in myself, but I wasn't anticipating being accepted yesterday, literally. So, it was great to see. In high school I have maintained a 4.0 average, an academic average. And regarding my character, it 's not an acknowledgment, but I am very proud of the character I have. I believe that people gravitate towards the type of person I am and the personality I have, so yes, I see it as an achievement as well. As with the next three things, it's not necessarily a certificate, but I do see it as an achievement. These last two summers. Last year during the summer I went to a USC camp and this summer I went to UCLA where I learned the basics of coding and engineering and this year at UCLE I was able to stay a
007week on campus where I met quite a few people from all over the world, in fact, with whom I still keep in touch to this day. So here are my support people. This was obviously not my decision to be born, nor who I was born to, nor where, but I am very grateful that they have supported me through everything, they love me, they take care of me, and I know that whatever I go through, they will support me, so this is also a source of pride for me. And last but not least, my savior Jesus Christ, my redeemer. Whatever characteristic I have, whatever achievement, whether it's my athleticism, my intelligence, my personality, anything like that, I thank God because without Him I am nothing. So thank you 100%. And I also wanted to add something,
008maybe it's not included in the presentation. I hope it does n't sound a little selfish, because yes, my mentors, family, everyone who has supported me has set the goals, the guidelines, but everyone should appreciate themselves too because where they have achieved they wouldn't have gotten there without their own dedication or strength. And I think everyone should thank themselves. So I appreciate what I have been able to do to get to where I am today. And regarding my school activities, I am in Apex, also known as the academic excellence program. They are for those students who have great aspirations for themselves, whether it be to be president or director of something. So I find myself at Apex Young Black Scolx YBS. I am the secretary, which is a safe place for minority students at my school.
009This year I am captain of the first basketball team and when I played football I was also the captain of the team. And as I told you, I am a mentor for the mentoring program at the school with Mr. Flores Acá, who leads this team. Oh, and lastly I was selected to be the outstanding student and I prepared, I made this slide presentation, so I wanted to add that too. My plans after high school are going pretty well so far. I've already been accepted to LSU and Arizona State University, but I'm hoping I can also get into North Carolina ANT, UC Urban, UC Riverside, Clark Atlanta, US. Those are my top schools, so if I could be accepted into those, I would be very grateful. I just finished university. I want to get a bachelor's
010degree, either in business computer systems or business analytics, and once I receive my bachelor's degree in whatever it is, for example, if it's in business computer systems, I would also like to get my master's degree in business analytics to have a better resume and have more knowledge in the field. So that's how I would do it . During university I plan to participate in scholarships to strengthen my resume . And after I graduate, if I focus on business, I feel that one of my starting points as a job would be, uh, operations manager, or if it's focused on technology, it would be as a computer scientist. Well, things can change. My reasoning for choosing these careers is because, having attended US and UCL camps, my interests in technology continue to expand, and with regard to
011business, I've always been fascinated by how businesses operate. Well, it's always been a prestigious and well-regarded degree, so it's always interested me, and once I have my bachelor's and master's degrees, I feel like my top career would be, uh, IT director for a large company or starting my own company. I know that many people want to be entrepreneurs, but they have no concept of what their business would be. Yes, I've been thinking about it for quite some time now, and I feel like I'd like to link it to the health industry so that people can achieve their goals, whether they're physical or want to lose weight or something like that, and learn how, with whom, and where they can do it. And to expand a little more on this topic, I could do it if
012I had my notes app, but I'm not going to do it right now. And aside from all the academics, I feel like I imagine a family where there is love, a bond and connection so strong that we can talk about anything. Regarding my personal life, I imagine a happy life where I can help whoever needs it, but more specifically I imagine a life full of peace. There are many problems that do happen in the world, and I feel like there are too many, and I feel like everyone wants to focus on them. So peace would be my main focus for my personal life, as I grow older. And as I said, I'm a sports fan, that's why I chose Wayne Crky, who is the best hockey player in the whole world. And it says that
013the citation says, uh, you lose 100% of the opportunities you do n't take, because you can't succeed without taking the leap, without taking the leap with faith. If we see LeBron James, maybe people want to take a picture with him, but you'll never get the picture if you don't ask, if you don't ask for permission to take the picture. It's a funny example, is n't it? It's serious, where I feel you really have to take the plunge with faith to achieve what you want to achieve. And that was the end. Does anyone have any questions for me? Well, I am very invested, I have a lot of investment. I was at B Flower, we want to know, let us know where you're going. Please come back and tell us where you decide to go to
014university. I would like to know. Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Anyone else? The other question I have is if you'll take a picture with us. Yes, 100% sure. Yes, yes. Here is my father, here is my grandmother, my grandfather is my godmother. And lastly, of course, but no less important, my mother who is standing right there beside me. Yeah. Ah. Yes, the next step is that we will begin to do surveys. Wow, very beautiful. The board comes down from the podium again for the awards. I ask Mrs. Bonnie Carter for the acknowledgments of this evening. Tonight the Board of Education is pleased to recognize athletes and teams from our district who have won mid-season championships in the fall sports season. Please students and staff come down and stay for a Mayf High School Girls Tennis photo.
015Head coach Chris Tran, please come forward. Receiving recognition from the Board of Education for winning the conference singles championship, second consecutive year, championships, two championships in a row by Ilana Re Steles. A round of applause, please. A round of applause for them this season, 29 and 7 overall and 231 in league games. In the last two seasons, she has accumulated 65 wins and an outstanding 44.1 league record and on top of that she is number 12 in her class with this academic score of 4.5. A round of applause for her, please. Congratulations to Deina and technical director Tren. Is there anyone in the audience tonight who wants to thank him? I could n't hear him very well, but the people are going to come forward. Another round of applause, please. And thank you, Trend technical
016director, for your dedication. Thank you very much. Now, representing the Bellflower Golf School for Girls, technical director J Shu, please come forward. Receiving recognition from the Board of Education for winning the mid-season championship title of the league. Abigael Mercado, as team captain, led by averaging 47 strokes in each nine-hole match and winning the league title. Abigail, is there anyone you'd like to thank tonight? Please come in, please come forward, those people whom Miss Aveil recognized. Yes, we can... uh... that director Go Shu and Abigail remain, as they continue with recognition on the Bellflower first team women's golf team, they had a great season. In eight games they won every single one, demonstrating considerable skill, dedication, and teamwork. Uh, the Board of Education would also like to recognize the Girls' Golf Team for winning first place.
017in the Mid Series league. When your name is called, please come forward. Natania Aguirre. Natia Aguirre. Michel aing Valeria Carrillo, Rola Acaladias, Abigail Machado, Marg Hernández Mejía, Génesis González Catiro, Angeli Posadas Ramírez and Isabela Saucedo. No. Another round of applause. Ladies, is there anyone you'd like to recognize in the audience tonight? Me to my mother. Ballast. Congratulations to everyone and thank you, technical director Shu. That concludes the acknowledgments for tonight. Thanks again and congratulations to all of you. Let's move on to our reports from the student representatives, starting with Mayfer Gale Friedman. Good evening, superintendent. Dr. Simon, Chair of the Board, Sora Stuart. Board members, district colleagues, this is Mayfir's November report. On the 17th we had this homecoming assembly. We played, we had many t- shirt games. I was the dragon in the play
018we had. It was a lot of fun. The work was a Disney theme. We announce the princesses. and the princes for the welcome day. The 18th was quite fun. We light up the sky. As you can see, Red Ribbon Week was from October 27th to 31st. ISB Middle School took charge and put up lots of decorations. The PTSA counselors helped with games during lunch to win prizes. We students are all celebrating living a drug-free life. Uh, the Hispanic Heritage celebration was on the 24th and Spectacular Suns was a band that was there, we had a live band, some booths, face painting, fundraising, and they gave us food and treats during the night. This seminar for junior students was a lot of fun. All fifth-grade students at Mayfers gathered in the gym. Everyone dressed in red,
019a very sentimental day, a very sentimental moment. We were all able to share things we had kept hidden, it got quite emotional, but overall it was really great that everyone had this get- together with us and these are some Halloween photos from the 31st at our school. Some teachers dressed up as Suc, I do n't know, 67, they don't know, I don't know if they know what it is, but some maybe have heard of it. This is quite funny. This KF guy really knows his stuff, it seems. Alright . And I think we had about 1000 students. They're making the honor roll this year, I could be wrong, but there were a ton of students. Those awards were given out on Halloween. Congratulations to all of Lucia's students because they did a great job, very
020intelligent. The renovations of our fields have already begun; the first one has started. Thank you all for your support. We are eagerly awaiting our new playing field. Thank you so much. Now moving on, Belf is, are you ready? Brilliant. Let's move on to Belf. Suema. Yes, Castro, thank you for being here, for being here with short notice . Thank you very much. Thank you for having me here. This is our presentation for November. First we have the welcome day. This year a great success came to an end. Students had an outdoor space where they ate, and there was a DJ playing music. We would like to congratulate Mr. Btian Lewis and the Class of 2028 and the seoris who are our sponsors and who made it possible for us to plan the welcome day. Following.
021We also had an information night here for the parents of senior students. This is the first time we've done this event, and it was a great success. I had over 200 parents and students who confirmed their attendance to find out what they needed to know for their final semester. They received information about senior year activities, pricing, and financial aid options. They also learned about the meaning of the regalia or the graduation souvenirs, and they learned the differences between the gowns and the caps, and they learned how to order basically everything needed, and they also brought samples so they could see what sizes would fit them. Well, it was productive information. The families left feeling prepared for the coming months. From there we also had FFest, an autumn festival that was on October 29th, we do
022it every year and we also welcomed students, faculty, staff, families and local primary schools to enjoy all the activities, food and games and our haunted house. A big congratulations to USB and all the clubs that participated, as we surpassed our previous ticket sales records. It was a great night that brought the school community together in the best possible way. We also had a blood drive and Red Ribbon Week was very successful this month, and we want to thank the Red Cross club on campus for holding this event every year. During Red Ribbon Week, we partner with events to spread the message of living life drug-free for Red Ribbon Week, Halloween, and Day of the Dead. Uh, the world languages club decorated the hallways with offerings and also invited staff and students to make dedications to
023loved ones they have lost. Regarding the championships, uh, we just honored, we have women's tennis. We want to congratulate the women's team for reaching the third round of the championship. Well, they had a great season and we wish them the best of luck next time. We also have football. The Buccaneers won against Noglales High School last Friday in the first round of the championship. This Friday they will play Holton at Ronary Stadium at 7 pm. In the championship, the highlight was the women's goal. We want to congratulate you on reaching the first round of the championship and we hope you have great luck next year. Upcoming events include the annual musical performance. This year we have the opportunity to perform High School Musical and we are also carrying out a collection of canned food, the
024USB and the members are meeting to collect these foods and will also be helping with the distribution of this, the ASB club. That's it, some upcoming events. We have the excursion on the 17th. Also on the 18th we have the excursion to K State Fullerton and on the 21st we have the excursion to USC. And finally, we are all excited for Thanksgiving week, Thanksgiving Day, since there is no school. Thank you, that's all. Thank you, Appreciate from Summerset. We have Julian Guilar. Uh, good evening, President Stuart and members of the board, Superintendent Dr. Simon and your guests. I am Julian Liera and I am in my final year at ASB. Thank you for the opportunity to share some of the activities that are happening at Summerset High School. Last month, a study group and I
025went to Screamfest, which was at the Chinese cinema in Hollywood. Let's talk about screenwriting, how to write screenplays, filming, and we can also see some of the works made by the students. You can learn about special effects makeup , which I used at the Halloween event. Halloween on the summer set. It was super fun. Uh, we worked really hard to have a community event on Halloween night, but we didn't forget to have fun during the day. We welcomed students from the adult center and staff from the district office. This is the haunted house, the labyrinth is haunted, it was built by students. It was remarkable that everything was actually done in 9 days. The art department printed all the images for the maze and 32 students participated as the monsters inside the maze. 200 community
026guests came. Students made their own costumes and either did their own makeup or each other's, which was a great bonding experience. We also had 12 carnival games for the children to play and win prizes, and it was great fun for everyone who attended. We also had Enrich's garden. She has been part of the school for 3 years now and it has been a lot of fun because they learn about sustainable living, nutrition and cooking and more about working in the garden at Miss Igen's house in her class . Mr. Guzman has been working to acquire drones and drone competition fields or contests. It is in the process of students programming and building drones so they can play drone football, drone soccer, like the Harry Potter game. Those are some short videos. We were also able
027to get new furniture for two classrooms at the school; we have plans to update the science room with new desks and chairs. The students have enjoyed these improvements, as it feels more welcoming and modern. The news is official that the high school increased the graduation rate by 18.1%. With this, we are creating future success for more students. This was great news to announce at the school. We also have a few amazing events coming up. Tomorrow the students will go with Mr. Guzman and Mr. Peralta to NHRA in Pomona. Additionally, by watching the race they will learn about a variety of jobs in the transportation industry and everyone is invited to Turkey Day, which is on November 20, just before Thanksgiving. We're going to enjoy some food, we're going to socialize with each other during the
028annual Summerset tradition, which was started by the school's first headmaster in the 1960s. And thank you, please come in. Good night. Congratulations, Jamie, your director at Summer. That's great news, well done. And finally we have Josana Torres from Los Flores School. Good afternoon, President Amy Stuart, members, Mr. Damen, cabinet members, teachers, students. I'm here, and happy to be able to tell you what has been happening at the school since the last meeting. On November 13th we had the second Student of the Month ceremony where students received their certificate and there was a speech from the teachers. We are proud of all the work ethic the students have and their studies. The autumn festival took place on October 31st and was a great success. The students loved playing games, doing arts and crafts, and basically sticking
029candy on the tables. Espita decided to hold the second festival after last year's success. We also appreciate all the parent volunteers who worked on the event and made it a success. On November 5th, he had the opportunity to be visited by Elch. He received a speech from one of the members of Elx Lodch during this same visit; the third-year students were given the best student dictionary and greatly enjoyed this gift. Last Thursday we held the first ESPAC celebration to commemorate school success in the 2025 ESPAC exams. Students in third, eighth and year were recognized for their great test scores. We are very proud of your dedication and taking the time to show what you have learned and of taking the exam seriously. We are also proud that we have been named to the 2025 Honor
030Roll. This recognizes schools that are closing the gap nationally, and we have made it to the second round of the Schools to Watch application process, which means we will be visited by the committee on November 4th. Thank you for meeting the required criteria. We appreciate this opportunity, as the honor roll is a very valuable resource for evaluating the learning process and fostering the academic growth of students. and a few more events to come. It's the high school trip to college and trade schools, the turkey treat, the race, uh, student of the month, spirit day and winter festival, as well as the science fair. Thank you. We know that you have time to do homework, go to your families, so obviously at this time you can leave. Very well done. Thank you. Bride Tami in the
031back. Congratulations, the school was pretty cool too. So, moving on to our reports and employee representatives, we have Bta, President John, who is here. Yes, I saw it. Yes, I see it. I do n't know if you know, but I also coach flag football at Mayf. I wanted to say that this Saturday they're going to have the first 605 All Stars game to recognize the women's team. We have two from Belf and two from Mayfir. It will be at B High School at 5 pm Prayer High School. So we want you to come and support the girls here. We have two from Bellf, two from M who are representing us. I forgot to tell you, but I just wanted to let you know. Thank you. Welcome. It 's already on. Good evening, President Stuart, board
032members, Dr. Simon and the cabinet. I'm simply going to review some of the data I obtained from the site visits we made during the month of October, over the course of two weeks. These are data from the survey of more than 400 responses. We have approximately 530 teachers, and I have shared that information with Dr. Simon. She can share that too. I also wanted to give you a summary to give you an idea of the teachers and what they have in mind regarding these topics. Many teachers responded; we had groups of teachers who have been teachers for 3 years or more, from 4 to 10 years, from 11 to 20 years, and from 21 years or more. Everyone is represented equally in this survey. One question that was asked was, how important is a regionally
033based salary? It was extremely important. I think we asked the question, and one reason why we asked the question is—and I'd like to talk about this again—because it's something we need to keep in mind in order to attract and retain new teachers if the salary is competitive with those around us. And the benefits and other services we can offer in terms of facilities, curriculum, and support for teachers to help, not just to attract them, but to retain them over time. Speaking of healthcare, we asked teachers, how do you feel about our benefits? Uh, it was a 60/40/60 split, with more satisfied than not. And speaking more in more depth about that, what worries her most is the upcoming expenses, knowing that health insurance costs are improving and the amount it will cost to cover a
034family is extremely important. In this survey, more people answered saying that they would like more opportunities for mental health services. Well, that was represented by 15% of the employees. When we asked teachers to share with us the plans they currently have, you can see that 50% of the teachers have Kaiser, and when they are asked now that they have open enrollment if they will stay or switch, approximately 70% to 75% say they will stay with the benefits plan they have with Bellflower at this time. Turning to climate and culture issues, we asked people to tell us some of their most important priorities. Uh, both were work reduction and safety policies and the quantity and number of students in class. More time for preparation, support for classrooms, in special education, especially and facilities, but safety and
035size of classroom classes was the most worrying. How are things going this year? They were asked. 65% said it was great or good, 30% said it was okay, but it's just that only a few percentages said they were having some difficulties in their classrooms, but mostly it was positive. Positive aspects are attributed to collaboration at the student level, having the opportunity to do so, and support from the administration and office staff. We also know that this extends to the district and the administration as well, because you support the programs in the schools and the teachers. When you take all those categories into account, what you're really working on is commitment to parents, community, and morals. Morality, mainly the commitment to students and student morality is discussed. Finally, the most important concerns in schools, number one,
036are student behavior and discipline policies and benefits and payments, but that repeats as the first part of the report. So Dr. Simon has this, she is free to share it with you. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, next PTA. President of the PTA, Alexandria Cortes. Everyone, join the PTA. Yes, please, these are members of the PTA. Good night. President Stuber, board members, superintendent, district staff, community members. I am pleased to share with you this advertising report 913 2025 starting with Red Ribbon Week, first slide, you will see all the schools we visited on the school bus. Mr. Stuart was on the bus, we had a lot of fun, Sean Diaz, and other members who are here too. We had a really great time . We visited all the schools. Uh, life is a puzzle, we said
037that was this the theme of this year, it was presented in different ways from kindergarten to twelfth grade high school students . We had a lot of fun, red ribbon week all over the district. Next slide. We were part of the 2025 breast cancer walk. Uh, it was really great the time we had, not because of being here, being there, but the stories we heard walking this with these supporters and survivors. We met quite a few people in the community, and others who had shared their experiences; we thanked them for sharing and for being there. It was a really great experience. There are other board members there as well . They are by Craig Williams. It's the next slide, the first featured school. I'll let them talk about their school. I have Elizabeth, the president
038of Craig Williams and his historian Maria. Well, this is very random for me, but I'll talk about... Well, I'm the PTA president, but Craig Williams and some of our classrooms received presentations for the Red Ribbon Week judges, and they did a great job. Last Monday, they shared their presentations with the rest of the school. The morning announcements went very well, and our cheerleading squad did a great job during recess. Instead of playing, they were making sure their presentation for you was perfect. We also had trunk or treat, which was a lot of fun, more than we expected because there was a Dodgers game on. I wanted to think everyone was watching the Dodgers that day, but everyone came. and in judging the match. Many didn't watch the game that night, so they mostly visited our
039school and had a lot of fun and were telling everyone at school how much fun they had. They think that PTA staff teachers who were supporting us and thanked them for that, and that's all. Thank you so much. And they didn't know they were going to do this right now , but I said, "You're here, talk about your school. Next up we have is Steven Foster, a bubble run. The winner is the one who gets to throw a cake at the PTA. Trunco or treat, aliens, monsters, the catwoman. We were very involved at Ramona Elementary School . In our next couple of months, we're going to focus on a lot of new activities. We're very excited. Please continue to sign up. We have 2,224 members. May that number continue to grow . Enjoy your break
040and your vacation. We'll be back in December with more great things. Thank you all . Alexandria, when are we going to find out the winners of Red Ribbon Week? The next meeting is on December 2nd . You are all invited to come. We're going to have Red Ribbon Recognition Night at 6 pm. Everyone is welcome. You will also receive an invitation from our Red Ribbon Committee. Thank you very much. Good Good evening. Well, moving on to Superintendent Dr. Simon's report. Thank you very much, President Stuart. Good evening to President Stuart, board members, cabinet, guests, and the Belfare community. As PTA President Alexandria Cortes mentioned, during the week of October 28, our school celebrated Red Ribbon Week throughout the Belfare district. Thank you to everyone, to PTA President Alexandria Cortes, and to the PTA site presidents
041for being such energetic and heartfelt leaders. Thank you very much. That week, we were also sponsors of the district's first State of the Year event . I knew this event was well-received, valued, and ready from the very beginning . Thank you all for being present both in person and online. Your presence shows how special the Belfare district is—a community that truly stands up for its students. The evening was about listening to learn and moving forward together. We celebrated progress, we recognized the work that falls to us, and knowing that every student, as a goal, will be known by name and valued for their strengths and achievements. will be ready for the opportunities that are coming up. Suema was here, our president, and Juliana remembers why we do this work, and the Bellflower High School Choir
042for singing for us. We also celebrated the start of the Mayfer athletic field. The space will have moments of teamwork, teamwork, excellence, and fun for our students and community. On November 4, Mr. Bard, Assistant for Educational Services, and I held a meeting at Cerritos One-School College to look at all the dual enrollment opportunities for us and other districts in the area. On November 5, I accompanied the city of Laker to a merit awards ceremony, honoring first-time emergency workers . Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Olmos , and Mrs. Patricia Bro shared BF's innovative work in artificial intelligence at a conference in San Francisco. Thank you all for your service and for sharing the work of the Bellflower Unified School District . I want to thank the CSA president, who is not here tonight, and our members From the
043CSA, the cabinet of the two teachers, principals of this middle and high school, and the security company are working on the goals we share. And now I want to wish you a break, a rest season in this football season. You know you are in our thoughts and prayers, and if we can share with you, the Beafor Unified School District is here to support you, to support you with any problems you may be having. Students, we are proud of your efforts in working hard to achieve personal excellence. Thank you for all your hard work; it is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much. Thank you, Dr. Simon. We are going to move on to committee updates. Any committee or department updates? Clark Kitchfield: Well, I have two. One is from the CAPS meeting. We had CAPS last
044night. We had the meeting, and one thing I would like to share is that member Eric Linsle, with whom we are working on the artificial intelligence pathway. We have talked quite a bit in CAPS, but it seems to have some momentum. Now I'm going to share with everyone how that program is going, how it is evolving in the security committee. Would you like to talk about that? Well, we had a good conversation. The Halo devices gave us an update on those devices, and I know that information is going to be shared with the entire board in a couple of meetings. Thank you for the presentation on the Halo topic. It was a very important meeting. Member Armstrong. Thank you, President Stewart. I attended the Laxta meeting, and we had— I used to participate, I'm not
045on the state council anymore—but we invited a teacher who attends the state boards to share some things with us, Ms. Melinda Hlyy. I've forgotten which area she's from. Um, Ontario Montclair. Well, that's her local chapter. She was sharing with us the major concerns for teachers. She talked about the economic pressures on teachers and the retention risks. She went into detail, but I won't do that right now . She also said that another big concern was staffing, classroom size, and resources because, as you know, there are these cuts in resources, and that leads to overcrowded classrooms and understaffed classrooms. She also mentioned The underfunding in public schools, the instability in funding, it all comes from perhaps gathering this information from teachers who come together during the state council across California. And he said that another big
046concern for teachers right now is some of the working conditions, professional rights, equity, and the lack thereof. He also acknowledges that there really is a teacher shortage and a retention crisis; sometimes when they do call, they don't come in because they're sick, they don't have a substitute, and they have to rely on resources within the district to cover classes. So, that's happening there in several places. I also have an update from CSBA on the legislative side. The legislative people talked about some of the proposed laws that have been signed. Let me see, this one that our assembly member championed has already been signed and has become law. I don't know if we're politically motivated or something, but I spoke with the board president earlier today, but it was definitely signed and became law. Other proposed
047laws... I do n't know what we think. Okay, let me see. Okay , that's it, it's a lot of things, but well, that's all for me. Well, I know we had the meeting on December 8th for Atlético, also climate and culture. Would you like to give us just a very short summary? I didn't ask you before. So we had this meeting yesterday and we reviewed a pretty solid foundation for what we're going to work on for the rest of the year to present the cultural proposal, have a framework for achieving equity, and perhaps also the public data that we'll be working on for the rest of the year. Any other updates from the committees? Moving on to public comments. Tonight we have requested items from the session, although these are not open to a public
048meeting, they are open to speakers. They have 3 minutes to talk about any item that is on the agenda or not. Each item will be limited to 21 minutes per issue. We want the public to know that the board, the president, will be listening very carefully to each one. Public comment. However, we will not be providing answers during the meeting. The surprising or designated of them communicate with the parent or guardian or community member. If the comment requires follow-up, we have Henry Sharp. Welcome. Thank you for being here. Good evening, President Stuart, board members, Dr. Simon, cabinet members, colleagues, and families. I am Henry Sharp, and this is the first time I have introduced myself publicly, as I am an elementary physical education specialist. As you know, I have been in this district for 24
049years as an adaptive physical education specialist and have moved to the elementary position to begin including children at a younger age in order to carry out the unified movement that currently exists in the M for junior and junior high. I currently serve about 800 students between Albert Baxter and Steven Foster. Each physical education team consists of one credentialed teacher and two paraprofessionals across the five teams in the district. I serve elementary students in all except the Flowers, and that is information for everyone between the CAP and how we are funded. Moving on to another topic, it's appropriate to celebrate the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between Bell Flower School District and Special Olympics. It will solidify the work that many staff members, teachers, past and present administrators have been doing for over seven years
050on this relationship specifically with Special Olympics and our school district. I'm proud to say that I believe we beat some of the surrounding districts that tried to poach some of our students by signing this, and it's going to be a movement with the support of all students, regardless of ability. On December 5th, we're going to celebrate the Memorandum of Understanding. It's going to be commemorated. Everyone is invited to the basketball tournament at May Fair High School. I believe they might be having a conference in Sacramento, but if not, please come. You are all welcome to come, and thank you again on behalf of our great students, families, and communities. This is a time in the world where there is so much division. The district is bringing everyone together through this movement. Thank you for helping.
051to make our dream come true. We really appreciate it. Thank you. Now we have Clarisa Maris. Excuse me, that was my phone. Welcome. Hello, good evening everyone. I'm Clarisa Ruiz, I'm a mother and I just wanted to talk about some concerns I'm having. Last week, on Wednesday the 5th, I received a call from the assistant principal at Craig Williams Elementary, where my 9-year-old daughter in fourth grade attends. He called me around 10:30 in the morning and informed me that an incident occurred before school started, before 8:00 or 8:15. He said my son was involved in an incident where another fourth-grade boy was on the ground and a fifth-grade boy was on top of him fighting. My son stepped in between them and pulled the fifth-grade boy off the fourth- grade boy. There was no supervision
052on the playground. There was enough time for them to fight and for my son to stop. Unfortunately, the fight didn't stop there, and the fifth-grade boy ... She started fighting with my son when he stood up, slapped him, and ripped off his gold necklace. My son was very upset, very sad, he was crying, but I did n't get this call until 10:30. It was long after this happened that the principal or assistant principal informed me about the incident, and I asked what disciplinary action would be taken. She said that all the children involved would be held back, that for the next few days they wouldn't be participating in recess, which I didn't think was the appropriate action because not all the children involved had the same level of involvement. One started it, and the boy
053was actually trying to separate them in this incident, and regarding his necklace, she commented that her words were, "He shouldn't have been wearing it anyway," and I don't think it was appropriate for her to have said that about the situation. My son was feeling very ill, and I received a call at 10:30 from the nurse, who told me that he was feeling very sick and that It seems he had a fever. He was completely fine when I dropped him off this morning, but when I picked him up, he said the whole incident had really shaken him up, and he didn't want to go to school the next day or today, but he did go to school today. I've had other problems in the past. I've had to talk to the principal and the assistant principal
054about bullying, and I don't think the school has a proper action plan in place, nor do they take appropriate disciplinary action depending on what's happening. I also don't think it was appropriate for her to call me at 10:30 this morning telling me he studied at 8:30 this morning. I don't know what their action plan is or how or what their timeline is for dealing with situations, but I don't think two hours after something happened is appropriate. Thank you. Yes, I see your name here, so we'll ask someone to follow up. Is there anyone else who wants to speak? Let's move on to the matters for discussion. Mission, vision, and the presentation of core values. Dr. Smith or Dr. Simon? Dr. Simon. No, thank you, Mr. President. I was going to hand over here to Dr.
055Smith, who will be presenting to the board tonight on the mission, vision, and core values. The survey. Thank you very much, Dr. Simon, good evening, President Steart, board members, community, and staff. I'm very excited to share the results of a survey we conducted to gather feedback on our mission, vision, and core values as a district. As you know, our mission describes why we exist. The vision describes what we want for the future, and our core values describe how we conduct our work. These are key core statements; they should be inspirational and aspirational. And it is imperative that these core statements are collectively believed in and upheld. In our survey, we received 416 responses in total. The majority of those responses were from parents and family members. We had several teachers or credentialed staff, classified administrators,
056and more. We have a good balance here of people responding from elementary and secondary schools, and we're talking about the schools they feel most affiliated with. They identified with them, and we also had representation from alternative schools as well as the district office. And we asked a question: How familiar are you with our mission, vision, and values before taking this survey? And as you can see here, 49%, almost half, said they somewhat know the mission, vision, and values. 35%, almost 36%, knew them quite well. Then we looked more closely, in more detail, at why we exist, and it says that we create futures for students by providing a pathway for all students to become responsible, informed, and productive citizens who can compete in a diverse world. We also asked, what else does the mission reflect?
057What do you want for students? The majority said quite well, over 60%. A third said somewhat well, and 4% said not well at all. We also asked which of these words Or phrases they feel are important for a new mission statement. And as you can see, the top or most popular responses were opportunity for every student, respect and inclusion, equity for all students, graduates, future-ready, and lifelong learning . We also asked some open-ended questions to gather additional responses. Specifically, we asked for additional suggestions, and there were several key things in the responses. You may see these themes appear when we share the conclusion we discussed regarding admissions and values in certain questions we asked, but in particular, we wanted to emphasize that some of the feedback we received had to do with student voice and
058agency, empowering students to lead, innovate, and make decisions about themselves, and the whole-child approach, including building emotional well-being, character, and academic success. We also asked additional questions about the vision. Remember, the vision should describe what we want for the future. Currently, it states that the Belfoud School District produces graduates who are seen as competitive learners. global through equitable access to high-quality social and applied learning, and are ready to thrive in life and academics. This vision inspires and challenges. Yes, it inspires and is very inspiring. Some say something like that, but it could be stronger. We asked those who responded which words and phrases are important for a future vision statement. It says, "Careers, university, and life readiness contain high marks, leadership, citizenship, belonging, student well-being, and academic excellence were the highest." We asked open-ended questions
059about the vision. You can see familiar themes from the feedback we received on the mission vision. What stood out was inclusion and belonging, that students feel valued. Quite a few comments said that belonging is very fundamental to success and also being ready for the real world, beyond university pathways, which also include vocational skills. We also asked questions about core values. That means, how do we make the work? We currently have three core values: equity, achievement, and community. We asked respondents if these core values represent the most important values for our school district. Two-thirds indicated yes, and almost one- third said mostly, but missing some. Less than 5% indicated they should be no different. Um, we asked a question: When you think of our schools doing the best they can, what stands out the most? And
060many themes emerged, in particular three themes I would like to highlight: one, the dedicated staff who care deeply and have a strong focus on students, high expectations, and achievement. Respondents emphasized academic rigor, excellence, and leadership and vision. Studies of the schools showed that clear and responsible leadership was essential. We also discussed the possible values For the Belfary district, what priority would be given to including them in a more up-to-date list or a more up-to-date description of the core values? coherence, innovation, excellence, trust and happiness were the highest-rated qualities. Others , as you can see, also have this good score. In the open feedback on fundamental values, you can see again some themes that are repeated with other questions, particularly belonging, student voice. It was also emphasized to ensure that every student feels heard, valued, and
061represented in the school's core values, collaboration, and communication; this teamwork, open communication, and partnership with parents is an essential part of Bellflower's culture. We also asked additional questions, a couple of feedback, in particular a word or phrase, let's say, that describes what you want the Battleflower Unified District to have as something that is recognized. And you can see a theme, and the result is excellence and high expectations. Many respondents viewed Belfard as a district recognized for academic rigor, excellence and quality education, innovation, and being future-ready. Technology, creativity, opportunities for vocational schools , and issues of safety and well-being were mentioned. Other safe schools were also mentioned, and this information can also distinguish the district. It would be very important. We also asked what could help guide our mission in core values. Three that stood out
062were belonging and respect. A strong emphasis on valuing people, listening to and celebrating all cultures and identities. A student-centered approach, a main theme, student identity, interests and goals, and valuing, supporting, and fostering innovation and continuous improvement, maximizing academic achievement outcomes for students, and including the arts, which we would like to share with the board. about how they can use this information in the future. One key thing, well, has to do with mission, vision and values, which are the key components for any comprehensive strategic plan. The recommendations include forming a collection to guide us, a diverse team, and interesting people who can represent the entire Belf district and community. That leadership coalition can review documents for us, studying our mission, vision, and values, and the feedback we have obtained with this survey. eh developing recommendations. The
063group determines to sign, refine, or suggest revisions to these fundamental forward-looking statements. Recommend updates to the board. The board's commitment is very important and crucial. Um, we asked to invite a couple of board members to join this process and bring all the work together in the strategy planning process. The Board approved a partnership with the Learning Center Collaborative to begin the planning process and we are very excited for that to continue. What comes out of that process will guide our district very far into the future. Integrating this work into the strategic planning process is a strong recommendation we make to the board, and we believe it is an important and perfect part to integrate into the first phase of that project. And with that, I'm returning it to the board for some discussion and debate.
064Thank you so much. Questions or comments. Member of the Central Board, thank you very much for the presentation, it was extremely useful. If the board decides to move forward, well, excuse me, I have a headache, decide to move forward. I would like to ask, or rather, when we talk about recruiting community members and parents, if we could recruit parents who may not be so involved now, but who would like to be involved with this part and this process—not those who are already involved, I appreciate them very much, I don't want to exclude them, but to integrate those other voices in the community who don't necessarily feel they have time to participate every day, but who want to get involved in something like this. Thank you for that contribution. It is something that we will absolutely
065integrate into our process to identify that leadership coalition. Anyone else? Okay, moving on to Thanks. Moving to major action 13.1 MLU approval between the Belf district and California employee pool . Is there any background information on this topic? Dr. Simen, I would like you to explain something specific about this memorandum. Well, absolutely safe. Yes, in general I would like to have a partnership agreement with our partner CSA to do a couple of things. It discusses district and employee contributions to the CSA health plan for the 2026 school year. It also provides new and revised language on other topics, specifically and primarily benefits for retirees. uh this one of early age. This is something in collaboration with CSA and we came to an understanding and brought the MU to you tonight. Okay, do we have any
066other questions or comments? I'm so excited that this is happening. We can then have a motion to test item 13.1. I make the motion, I second it. I just want to thank you because the point was very clear . Of course, I understood perfectly, so yes, I second the motion. The motion and list of votes, Mr. Armstrong, yes, Mr. Central, yes, yes, Mr. Start, yes. Okay, moving on to the consent agenda, are there any points we should remember from tonight's agenda ? Armstrong Member. No, no, all my questions have already been answered. Thank you. I would like to retain point 14.6, purchase orders. Membranes enter. March 14th. 14.3 calendar. Well, any others? Okay, can you give me a motion to approve the consent agenda and retain 4.6 and 4.3? Hey, you, that motion. Secondly, uh,
067ballot list, Mr. Armstrong, yes, Mr. Centron, yes, Mr. Kfield, yes, Mr. Stewart, yes. Okay, let's move on to 14.3, the calendar. As a member of the Central Board, I had a question. When I see—I don't know who to ask this question to, excuse me—but when we look at the board dates in 2026, I see that there is only one special meeting on the calendar. That's dictating when we need, when we want a special meeting, or how it works. Well, it can be decided by the special meetings board. It was scheduled to discuss special budget issues and instructions to undertake further in-depth studies, as requested by board members, to gain a better understanding of these topics. Well, that was my only question. Thank you. Any other questions? Okay, we can make a motion to approve item
06814.3, seconded motion. We're taking attendance, Miss Armstrong, yes, Sintron, yes, Cchfield, yes, President St., yes. Moving on to 14.116, service or purchase orders. I have a question regarding P2601465, the family lance center. The order is on page 31, but it's on page 33. I enjoy them. I went to see their installation and I think it's amazing, but I also have many questions. $512,000. So the question of how many students we use services. There were only 45 students. So the question is, is that the total we're paying? a total because sometimes we have accounts where we can spend up to that amount or it's what we're paying for the contract. The first question is what we are paying for the contract. That is the total amount of the contract. So, the next question is, if we
069do it in parts, 45 students, that's almost a little more than 11,000 for each case, or well, the next question, in fact, is, it's done, uh, it's divided equally by students, some receive more in this contract, explain to me how it works. This depends on the needs of the students referred by the school. Actually, I think we have more; we have 70-something students right now in the school year to whom we've sold services, but it depends on the student. Sometimes it's something short-term, some kind of individual action, sometimes it's more long-term, but the truth is it depends. So, this could be a student who might go once and another student who goes 20 times, for example. Typically it happens more than once, but by the time they're sent to this level, they need more intensive
070support, more than our on-site team can provide. It is typically longer- term, but the term of service varies depending on the student's needs . My concern is that I like the program, and I have visited the facility. They do different things. Yes, but I'm thinking about the costs we can incur in a person's school regarding mental health, what we can put into the school staff for the amount we are paying. I don't know, colleagues, I don't know if anyone else saw that, but I don't know, I bother to do a personal exam, simply when I see 512,000 and I ask the question of how many services, how many students we have provided two services to and it's 45, this causes me a problem. And again we have two agencies that we partner with for different
071stages of support. Typically, these are for the more intensive entities we have to clarify, uh, is this what we have spent so far or is this what the contract is and we only reached this amount of the total amount, is it not what we have spent so far? So, in fact, I understand what you're saying, and the services are quite needed. Is there any way we can see how much we've been billed so far? Would you help us? Would I help you, Madam President? I'm confused because I don't see it that way. They told me they are not fact. So that's the contract, but we don't use all of it. It is the amount up to which we can go in the contract. So, please excuse me for not doing this before, for not asking
072this question, but I'm wondering how much we paid on the contract last time and where we stand now. I can get this information for you again . I support the family center. of community and family guidance because I am handling student mental health and I support it, I don't want to criticize, but to clarify the contract, I think it's 99.94 cents because it's very specific, it's an amount we can go up to because it doesn't seem to be received, but I can verify because that's what I understand, because it would be strange to make a contract that reaches $ 12,000.700 $1.94 because it pays for the staff. That's why they were very specific about the quantity. We pay for a certain number of therapy staff. I do n't know if maybe he can guide me
073regarding this, but I would like to approve this. In fact, uh, I'd actually like to set this aside during the approval process because I want to have more information because maybe there's something else we can get for $12,000 that might help. I know, maybe not, but it's hard for me to vote on this service order tonight. To be honest, would there be any impact on student services? I can move forward with this, but there would be some impact if this were to be set aside. Currently, they are providing services at the school, but there would be some direct impact on providing these services in the next three weeks. My fear is that there will be a gap in services. If we don't approve this, there will be a gap in student services. When was this
074contract created? It wasn't today. I ca n't get you the date, I don't have it. Uh, just to clarify, this is not the contract, it's a service order based on the contract. So if the board of directors likes it, I can review the contract itself, but this is only a specific service order for services for a specific time period. again. I'm not sure what the service interruption would be, but this isn't the general contract. But with this amount of services, when the contract was presented to the board of directors, I don't have it, I don't have it offhand, but I can get you the date. I don't want to interfere, I don't want to interrupt services, but it would be worthwhile to have that conversation and see the contract so we can discuss this. If
075we've already signed the contract, uh, if we've already approved it for this amount, I don't want to jeopardize the services, but yes, uh, these are very good points. I say that if they can tell us what they are billing. She already knows how many students they've provided services to, but you already know they've provided more services to more students, but if you could give them some kind of, I don't know, record of how they're billing, maybe it could help us, but again, the 500,000 and something is a general amount that covers, that we're going to pay up to this amount, but we haven't paid that yet. It's right? Yes, I can get you the quantity. It could be a comment regarding the contract; thank you for finding it. There was a multi-year contract that was
076signed on May 9, 2024. So, how many years? How many years is it for? 5 years is the duration of the agreement. So, we would have to break the contract or pay this amount. The contract itself is larger in amount and is divided by the number of years the contract lasts. Okay, explain it to me more. It's a multi-year contract. I don't have the exact amount, but the total contract that was carried out last year is divided into costs per year. So if it's a 5- year contract, multiply it by 5 years. So that's 512,000 for the whole year. One year is a contract. So it's a contract worth about 2.5 million dollars for 5 years. Yes, but we have to say 50 times 5,250 students times 2.5 million again. These are the most important
077needs we have for the students who are referred to this program. I understand, but I 'm not the expert, you are. But an ordinary person here, well, the truth is it causes me problems because I understand the students' needs, please don't think that I'm saying otherwise, but it sounds to me that it's quite expensive, it's more intense than the other needs we see, not needs, but things we see in the special education department. So, in fact, we need to explain what kind of support this center provides because it can give the board of directors a better understanding of why we are making these contracts based on the fact that we don't have the staff to support higher needs. So I'm going to say what kind of services, uh, and what kind of students you provide
078intensive services to. Don't have. Basically, we pay staff, so we have staff assigned to different sites, sites which, for example, Ramona, to the best library service for certain students based on referrals, based on the leading socio-emotional and mental problems that the students have. So we pay for staff who are assigned to different sites. So how do we keep track of 45 students? Because I give them a reference to send this installation. There is a reference log and I have updated service records . If the board wishes, we can always request that the center introduce itself and give a presentation to the board about the services they provide and the number of students they serve. If I went to the installation, then we already had it. The facility is amazing, I love the people, the facility,
079but well, for me, representing my community, $5,000 for 45 students, honestly, it causes me problems again. It's problematic. I understand the services, but we can get the services. The question I would like to see is, can we get the same type of services elsewhere? We can get them cheaper through our own staff. I think so. Okay, we already have this contract. I just want to clarify that this amount grows, it increases during the school year, so they receive referrals and provide services, and this number does increase during the school year. I don't have it. You can tell me the number, but I can tell you that we are at 72 this year. From this year with those they have worked. I think so, but again the referral process involves a series of income levels and
080all that kind of stuff. All students meet the requirements. You don't have to meet the requirements for it, or is it income-based for all students? Yes. Well, I understand what you're saying, and I agree that we do get into a bit of a mess with the numbers, but when we're talking about IPs and services, even in this list of service orders, it's a large number. But the main thing is that when we have this service, we make sure that students have access to it and are using it. If this number of students were higher, I think it would actually alleviate some of the concerns regarding being fiscally responsible and ensuring that we are dealing with money well, because the service being provided is very important and honestly helps a student make a big decision that
081will affect everyone in their life. Well, money is money, but we need to ensure that students have access to it. So 45 students is not enough for a district of our size. So whatever we have to do to introduce these services to children, because we heard in the previous presentation that a sense of belonging and mental well-being is something we want to emphasize. And in the last presentation all these things sound great, but what are we actually doing to make those words true? And for me, it's making sure that this makes sense where a good number of students are actually using it. I am fine approving these contracts, but I do call for a convergence on the issue. OK. And when we receive a purchase order for this amount, it's 45 million. Sometimes we do
082it quarterly, more often we receive them, but it seems that now they are quite long, quite a few purchase orders, but if there is one, respectfully, they are for 512,000 and there are only 40 students, you should tell us about these issues because we did make the contract, maybe we shouldn't have had the 5-year contract either because it is a long time to find out that we only provide service to a small number of students, I don't feel good voting and yes for something like this. Obviously I have to take this responsibility because I voted on this contract last year, so I should have received more information at that time. If I had known that this was the number of students we serve per year, I wouldn't have voted for this. Then ask Andrew. I
083would like to approve all orders, except that one; I don't vote on all orders. I personally find the difficulty is that you have to make a motion that excludes that particular order. Then everyone takes a vote on that particular motion. If there is no majority of votes to approve, the vote fails and returns to an original motion to pass them all, but any motion, that is the vote. My next question is in Friday's memo, if you could give me some information on how to break a contract, if we break the contract, what does that look like? Well, if we don't just provide some information, right?, about this contact, but for future contracts. How do you look at that? I learned a lesson that I need to look at contracts more closely. if you can give
084us that information. That's what I would like, but to give the board some background information too, about back in the fall last year I formulated the standard district contract using that contract for all the services that need to be in place. This was done previously in the general contract information used by the district. Every contract that comes before the board, the district gives us a clause that allows us to notify the district that at any time it had to have that clause, as in situations like this where the district board reflects on a contract and decides not to continue with that service. What I can do is look at the contract, look at the terms, see what they are, and give the board options for the future. Regarding services, if we have staff at each
085location, they can take students out of classrooms, do wellness checks, we can use them to, well, in another way, so that I am more fiscally responsible, for me it would be within the scope of the job. This can always be modified mid-contract; a request can be made for this program to expand or add additional services without asking for additional costs, but rather as a consideration of the GFC program. If we want them to be leaders for something that has to do with [Music] work on bullying, working with bullying. We had a mother here tonight talking about bullying, so you can ask us what else you can do for students on that issue. Yes, any additional service or anything within the scope of the contact you want to see, I can review it, and I will
086reinstate you. I'll talk to CFGC and see if we can add it as an amendment to the contract, some contract modification. I can ask how many of us have this several purchase orders totaling almost 2 million dollars. How many students are used in that program? Many people use this program. Each of these speech and language experts has quite a few students, up to 70 students, five SLPs and four special services with just those five SOPs. I can't multiply 3,500 students perhaps with those service providers. We pay staff like the CFGC. How many students do we receive with CFGC? Well, I have to get the list for you. I don't remember, but I don't remember how many there are in each school. It didn't help me make the point I want to make. We have quite
087a few services for children with special educational needs, and that cost is quite high, but we meet the needs and we do it because it's the right thing to do. However, we don't offer as much service for general education students who need additional support. Yes, there are things, but FGC only has a few students for whom we pay to access information on their mental health. I feel that if we are serving 45 or 70, hopefully more, by shedding some light on this issue, I think it's a good investment, but I do think we have to see, we must, well, we know how many people we have in terms of speech and language, but we must also know about counselors, because if it's a matter of how many students we have , maybe there are eight,
088maybe we only need three. We need to look at why, if we have a contract for so long, which we shouldn't do, there is a problem that is sometimes inefficient regarding the proportions of the worker and the student. Okay, I'll give you that breakdown on Friday. Can I receive a motion to approve item 14.6? He has that motion. I second that. This, call the list for voting. Mr. Armstrong, yes, Mr. Chris, yes, Mr. Centron, yes, Mrs. Stuart, no, only because of that contract. Communication from board members. Let's move on to that topic. Starting with board member Cintron. Thank you. I'll try to make this short and sweet. I participated in the Belfar district's first annual cancer walk , a great event. I really enjoyed walking and honoring the survivors and lovingly remembering each other and
089having a place where we can all be together, all of us and all those who have been touched by cancer. Personally, several members of my family have been affected by cancer. I felt incredibly focused on the family and this was a great help for healing, for those who were able to tell their stories, especially the successful ones. And thank you for that, and I look forward to many more years of the same. I also attended the state of incredible education by listening to the student speakers. I love events that have student speakers. Superintendent, of course. Great presentation. The data was truly wonderful. We were able to share our information. so that parents, community members, and partners can properly retain them and think of them as something important. No, I can't stand not being able to
090see the percentages go higher towards success. It was great to see all the families collaborating with the members, understanding and taking the time to talk to our members who were present. It was an incredible experience for me. I'm so happy to share how great the cabinet has been to work with, collaborating with the school district, and having that energy. It was quite nice. Uh, as a side note, this is the first, but not the last. And I remember the superintendent saying that. I also attended the start of construction of the Mayfer sports field . It's been coming for a long time, we've been waiting for it to happen, but it felt incredible. My daughter is a Mayfer alumna, she was there when the Steam building was being built in the year 20, she saw it
091and couldn't wait to see the new students on the new courts. It's going to come faster than we thought, so it took us a long time to do it, but now I can't wait to go to the celebration of the grand opening of the new sports fields we're going to have. These are personal comments. This one keeps it good from just two. I wish everyone a great Thanksgiving holiday. Almost there, so just hang in there a little longer. I'm very jealous. I don't get a week of vacation, only two days. So please enjoy yourselves, rest, and send love to your family members, your friends, and those you choose to be your relatives. And I think that after that, in three weeks, I'll be attending the CSBA, the annual education conference, so I'm really looking forward
092to it; I can't wait to be there. I attended last year, it was very informative. I want to participate again, to bring my knowledge back to this seat I have here with you. Thank you all and good night everyone. Hey, member Armstrong. Thank you, President Stuart. I also attended our first cancer walk. It was so nice to see families, I sent the teachers. I have five children who went through the Bellflower school district and its programs, so I had the opportunity to see many of the teachers and we had a lot of fun. I didn't want to wear my shoes that day, so I wore sandals. Yes, I think I walked around about five times, so I felt really good about myself. But it was a very emotional event and I had fun. The vendors
093there had lots of cute things, and if you signed up on social media, you got a little cup of bell flower. It was so much fun and I'm excited for the next time. Hopefully it will be a regular thing. I also attended the State of Education event. The student speakers and Dr. Simon presented the growth we had in each area and I said, "Ah, wow, yes, I'm liking this." So it's very important to have this basic data as a foundation to know where to work, even if it was a small victory. Let's talk about the small victories and we'll accept them, and hopefully from there we'll have bigger victories , but let's celebrate every victory, whether big or small. So thank you for that. And I said I didn't have the opportunity to go to
094the soil creation because I have a habit of going crazy with the equipment. Maybe I had done something that might have made the district responsible. I used to work at a container yard and I was actually removed from there, so I have a few stories to tell. But anyway, I didn't go, but I'm excited about what's to come. And Acciona's day, thank you, is coming again. Don't eat too much, but also eat a lot. Enjoy your family, your health, and stay healthy and safe. Thank you. Uh, my female Armstrong, uh, CK Kurchfield. On October 25th I enjoyed the breast cancer awareness van. Thanks to Dr. Smith for making this happen. He was a great dad, you could feel it , you could sense it, and I think he was a great example of how the
095words we use can become reality, creating a space of belonging and community, and I hope that this will happen in the future. But apart from that, I also want to emphasize pediatric cancer, which also affects children. I know there are several students even at Mayf High School. Our own students are dealing with cancer and its treatment, and I believe that providing a space like the one you were able to create on October 25th for them would be, and could be, something very powerful for them, but very well done across the entire state of education. Great, doctor, it's also a great job. Well, the basis is there, the foundation. We have work to do and you did a very good job presenting it, but you did emphasize what we have to do and how we are
096going to get there. And then also the soil creep. In fact, I did climb on a tractor, but I didn't do anything. Uh, no, I didn't mess up, I just did say some bad words into the microphone and well, I apologized to my colleagues and I loosened up a bit because I thought I was talking to my dad who was in the audience, but I was very excited about the renovation of the Mayfir field. Thank you for the update on the trees along Kenhill. Uh, the more communication we can give to the community from now on is very important. Aside from that, happiness action. Thank you. Something I'm grateful for is that I have the privilege of having what we have set up here, and I'm grateful to work with you for the students, Dr.
097Simon, and all the staff. Thank you for the work you do, and truly, thank you to the teachers and accredited teachers. I know we all work, but we do it because we are grateful to have the opportunity to do so. So, happy Thanksgiving! Thanks Cratchfield. Yes, I almost put my foot in it by saying his name. Anyway, I hope you all had a great veterans' day. On October 25th I also went to the cancer van for the cure. Uh, I walked along Juren, my mother and also staff from the previous BUS. I always get excited about this event every year. Thank you, Dr. Nox Ramos, Dr. Smith, thank you for all your great work. On October 28, the Goanza team carried out the state of education. I liked the data that was presented quite a
098bit. Thank you, Doctor, for your work. It's appreciated. I'm excited to have more conversations about academic achievement, dashboard data, and adjustments in the future, as well as the things that are in place right now that we believe are helping students. Although some of the data will be ambiguous or difficult to pinpoint, we can still get an idea of what is helping, what our needs are, and try to identify what will improve our exam aiming even further. So I'm excited to have those conversations in the future. Dr. Simen, I'm on a board memorandum. If I could get a list of the top strategies from the programs and approaches that we think are helping with academic achievement. Yes, we've improved quite a bit, but I'd like to have something for, for example, reading, art language, and mathematics.
099We want to know what strategies are helping to improve exam scores and where we might still need improvements. On October 29th I went to a UCB training in Ronda Beach. Uh, it's the compliance with procedures. I was the only female member of the board of directors, and there were quite a few members of the resources department, but it was great. It was something that, well, I didn't understand, but Dr. Smith said, "Why did you go?" It's because I didn't understand it. He is a person I like to research and learn more about. So I packed it for all my colleagues, but it was a very good training. I simply want to give you a general overview of six types of complaints, piece by piece. It's the universal complaint that's used for almost everything, except for
100a few things. These cover discrimination, harassment, bullying, intimidation, retaliation, graduation requirements and gestational quotas, and Title 9, which is sexual harassment or sexual discrimination by an employee or student. There are non- discriminatory employment complaints, complaints regarding district employees, which are not discriminatory, complaints regarding instructional materials and Williams' Law, and I remind myself that these complaints are not always a bad thing; they are concerns that we have to work together to fix before they become problems. So they are very proactive and shouldn't be seen as a bad thing. There are a few policies that were signed in October that may affect board policies, so I want to make sure we look at this and work with CBS to update this. Andrew and Dr. Simen, I think Governor Newsom signed a law requiring the board of directors
101to complete training in their first year, something related to training, so if the future memorandum can be clarified with that, to continue complying with these laws. On October 29th I also went to Ernest and the staff to collaborate on the qualities they want to see in their next [job/position] was amazing. Thank you, Dr. Noxim, Dr. Smith. I am grateful to the superintendent and staff for being proactive about this. Ern is something I love and I want the right person to be there, to be a leader for the community. So it's great that they've been there, that they're truly listening to the community. On October 30th I went to the red ribbon week . I was one of the judges on the bus. It was super fun. It was one of my best events because it
102was so much fun. So I encourage all members to go next year. The truth is they can interact with so many students and staff and can see the creativity and energy of our sites . My top three. I think we'll be at CSBA when they have this meeting and I want to know who won, but my top three would have been Foster, Wrf and Mayfir, but I have fans of all of them. But hey, everything was great. They had very beautiful posters, sang Craig Williams, the cheerleading team. There were lots of routines, hugs, it was an amazing day. So thanks again to all the sites that participated and also to the Parents and Teachers Association for all they do. On November 1st I went to the ground-breaking ceremony, very cool with family and friends. It
103was also my dad who was very difficult to get to go because he works in construction, that's why I convinced him. But we're really excited for the students, uh, for the PE students, for the band, everyone at Mayf who's going to be able to use the field, and this complex is going to be super beautiful, so we're really excited for the community. On November 6, Dr. Simer and I met with Assemblywoman José Solche. Uh, we talked about current legislation and it was really a meeting where we just talked about things we can do to partner in the future with community events, grants or any kind of collaboration we can do between the two of us. So it was incredible. I also went to the game , the football match, the championship, and we won 7
104against CU, and it's going to be tomorrow at 7 at the BF. I am very proud of Coach Miller and his staff. We are 0 to 10, but we are 0 to TR in the second round of the championship. So that's a big improvement. Oh, congratulations again. I always talk about Austin Miller, but well, he was the best offensive player of the year, he had 169 yards and 19 touchdowns in 10 games played. In his first year, this was in Alabama, he's going on several recruitment trips and you can find out because he was also at the Callops meeting yesterday. I love collaborating with programs like this one, which excites students to be in the classroom and provides life skills they can use. We're always going to add a new avenue for artificial intelligence, which
105is very exciting, and I love the session we have with PM LW and ABC, and the programs are just getting better and better year after year. So I want to thank Earlin Whney and her staff. And one of the things that just came to mind, he's telling CCK R Crchel that when we have the awards here, I'm wondering if the children are talking and we're talking, they can't hear it on YouTube. Would it be possible to get a microphone? situations for when the children or students speak or something, I don't know, so that we can actually hear people when they are speaking in front of the podium, because I would love to hear what the students are saying, especially when they are thanking the families, the parents, so maybe if we can investigate being able
106to have a microphone and that was all. Thank you. Do you have any questions about the information articles? Okay, if there are no further objections, then postpone the meeting at 8:05 PM until the regular meeting on December 11, 2025. Thank you. M.