Board Meeting April 20th, 2026

001Good evening everyone. Calling to order the El Monte City School District Board of Education meeting for April 20th, 2026 starting at 5:05 p.m. We will begin with our call to order and our roll call starting with Ms. Cobian. Present. Mr. Peralta is running, will be joining us a little bit. Will be joining our meeting shortly. Ms. Rivas? Present. Mr. Segrest? Present. Mendez Garcia, present. Next we have our flag salute and it's going to be led by Mason Basham from Clemenson School. If we can all please stand. >> [applause] >> Everybody please stand. Put your right hand over your heart. Ready? Begin. 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. You can sit

002now. Thank you for calling our meeting to order as well. Okay. Again, thank you so much for everyone for being here today. We have a packed house, which we always enjoy as a school board. Um so we will be following our agenda. For item C, we have strategic plan with a district administrative update. Good evening, uh President Mendez Garcia, governing board members, and to our school community. I want to begin by acknowledging the many staff members who are here with us tonight. Your presence reflects how deeply you care about your work, about our district, and about your commitment to our students. So thank you. This evening we have a strategic plan update that highlights the progress that we are seeing across our priority areas as we move into our final quarter of the school year.

003I know we're almost there. There's much to celebrate and the work that's happening across our schools and throughout the departments. At the same time we're actively planning for the year ahead as we continue working to balancing declining enrollment and other fiscal pressures while maintaining strong programs, support for students, and stability across the district. I think we're having a our Wi-Fi is a little on the slow side, um but our opening picture is a picture of our eighth graders. That's not Those are not our eighth graders. Eighth graders, we love you. It's a picture of our eighth graders that just came back to DC. >> [laughter] >> Let me take this opportunity. If you were part of the DC trip, if you were supporting our students, can you please stand so we can acknowledge you? Raise

004your hand, please. >> [applause] >> Thank you. We we just our student advisory group is going to be presenting this evening and without fail, this is the third year that we go to DC and we ask them, "What was your favorite part of the trip?" And they said lots of, you know, lots of wonderful landmarks, but they said by far the best part was being with our friends, hanging out in the hotel with our friends, and getting to see our teachers and staff members in a different light. So thank you for being a part of that. And for our eighth graders, you are not monkeys, but we're already missing you and looking forward to all of the success that you're going to bring to your families and to our community. And there it is. That's

005the picture. >> [applause] >> How appropriate. Students outside of the US Supreme Court. I have to tell you that one of the highlights that I'll speak to this evening is working with the student advisory group. From the mouth of babes, right? They're they're very honest about the things that are really making sense, the things that they connect with, and the things that they would like to see improved on. So at this point I'll turn it over to Dr. Pineda who's going to kick off priority area number one, ensuring academic excellence for all. Thank you, Dr. Garcia. Good evening, President Mendez Garcia, governing board, and community members. I'm pleased to continue our strategic plan update by sharing progress in priority areas one through three, um which focus on academic excellence, enrichment opportunities for our students, and

006student wellness. Starting with priority one, we continue to focus on academic excellence for our students beginning with the science of reading. As of tomorrow, all of our K through K through two teachers will have been trained and have completed 30 hours of our professional development in Orton-Gillingham. And then our TK teachers will receive Orton-Gillingham training in May, which will be focusing on understanding the science of reading as it relates to TK to the TK learning environment. Full implementation for all K through two will take place in the fall. Um as a reminder, Orton-Gillingham connects to the science of reading because it aligns with the backing the science of reading the reading principles using structured, explicit, and multi-sensory instruction to build foundational reading skills. And as early as this week, some of our schools are going

007to begin testing with our SBAC this week. The window will remain open until May 29th. Our ELA and math assessments evaluate our students' critical thinking, problem-solving, and application application of grade level standards. And our CAST assessment will measure understanding of scientific concepts and practices aligned to the next generation science standards. The results from our assessments help to inform instruction, identify areas of need, and ensure students are on track for college and career readiness. And coming soon, as we partner with our after-school partners LEARN, we will have the EMCSD spelling bee that will take place on May 15th from 3:00 to 5:00, location to be determined. Students who will participate in our LEARN program from grades four through eight have been preparing since the beginning of March to build their spelling skills. Um and this competition

008highlights student achievement while fostering a sense of community and friendly competition. Moving into priority two, we continue to expand opportunities that give students meaningful experiences beyond the classroom. For many of our students, these are opportunities they might not otherwise have access to. This work is supported through ELOP funding, which is specifically designated for these types of enrichment opportunities. And you've heard or you will hear from our students about their wonderful trip, but these are some of the places that over 650 of our eighth grade students visited with the support and help of our wonderful teachers and instructional assistants and classified staff members and our administrators. And they had a wonderful time. Our conga kids finalists from both Clemenson and Durfee School, our fifth grade students, will be representing us at the finals at The Novo

009at LA Live on Thursday, May 7th at 5:00 p.m. Make sure and cheer them on. They they did a wonderful job at the semi-finals. And during spring break, we had over 500 students a day attending our spring enrichment, which included field trips to Boomers and Bow Winkles and the Peterson Automotive Museum with a lot of hands-on exhibit Ooh. And we had on-site experiences that brought reptiles to our campuses, ocean science, and STEM experiences, and coding as well to our campuses. So a lots of great fun happening on our campuses during spring break. And then over on Saturday, I had the pleasure of going and watching our 30 of our Mariachi All-Stars participate in the Mariachi the Downey Unified Mariachi Music Festival. And they sounded so great. I had got a little bit emotional because some

010of these students just picked up an instrument beginning in December and they already know how to use it and they sang so beautifully and played so beautifully and represented us so well. And so I'm looking forward to where they go with this. And our cheers showcase will take place on Saturday, May 16th in the Columbia gym. Um and there's different times that our schools will be having their showcases, so the schedule is there. And this event highlights our student growth throughout the year. They sound great, they look great, they participate in various activities throughout the year on their campuses. So if you have time, please come and cheer on your cheerleaders. Our musical theater performances have been fabulous throughout the year. This past month, Legore students performed in Frozen. Frank Wright students were in High

011School Musical and New Lexington performed and captivated our audiences with Aladdin. And finally, if you remember at our last board meeting, Gidley performed in The Wizard of Oz and they just sounded so beautiful. Um mark your calendars because our musical theater showcase is going to take place on Friday, May 1st at the El Monte High School Auditorium at 6:00 p.m. And we have some upcoming musical theater performances at the school. The schedule is there. And our wonderful musicians are from our bands at all of our schools in our EMCSD honor band will be having their festival. Um, I'm not sure which year this is. Let's see. Any band teachers out there? Is this like Do we know which year? No. Many, many years that this has been going on now and they just sound so

012fabulous. So, our honor bands will be performing um at Durfee School on the 14th at starting at 5:45 um at the Durfee gym, I believe. And finally, under priority area three, we continue to prioritize student wellness and connection through our counseling program. Our counselors play a critical role in supporting students through social emotional learning, small groups, and relationship building. This is an area clearly identified in our LCAP and it reflects our ongoing commitment to supporting the whole child while maintaining programs that our students need and our staff value. And so, these are some of the activities and also some of the um various um supports that our counselors have in place for our students. Um, beginning with mix, mingle, and match where our sixth-grade students go over to their um K-8 school where they will

013be joining uh their other sixth-grade um peers um to meet them before they actually begin seventh grade. And so, they participate in activities where they get to know each other, they have community circles, and it makes it a little less scary to go into their seventh grade year next year. Um, our counselors have been trained in space um trauma-informed practices through Brown and SIBITS. And they also hold small group uh therapy around that. They hold executive functioning groups. They conduct school-wide campaigns and relationship building groups, social skill groups, and also monthly activities during recess. They are very busy and they support a lot of students. As we transition to priority area four, um you know, making sure that we can continue to remain fiscally solvent to support all the wonderful programs that we have in

014place. We look at uh the federal budget, the proposal came out for the upcoming 2027 year. Um, President introduced a lot of similar proposals from prior year which were rejected by Congress and ultimately a lot of these reductions were not put into place. Some of the highlights that were recently released in the past week or two when the proposal came out is funding for title one remains flat. Special ed funding increases in the proposal by 3% or so. There's a restructuring of quite a bit of uh federally funded K-12 programs under the Make Education Great Again grant. Um There are some programs that will be consolidated um and there is a 70% funding cut proposed uh in the budget proposal. Um, I listed three of them. They're title two, title four, and 21st Century. Those

015are ones that EMCSD is a recipient of. Um, 21st Century helps with their after-school, before-school, summer programming. And title two and title four help um support uh areas of professional development um and student uh populations that are in need of additional support. Um, so those are funds that are uh not being eliminated, but in the proposal being scaled back considerably by 70% uh assuming the proposal holds and is passed by Congress. Uh a lot of these proposals were introduced by the President's administration last year and they ultimately did not go into effect. Um Some programs that are being proposed for elimination are migrant ed and title three funds and um some smaller uh federal funds for professional development as well. Um, and a source of funding that EMCSD does not receive, but it is something

016that um does have a big impact uh here in the community with other agencies receiving funding for it is a proposal to eliminate the TRIO funding, which is funding to help first generation and low income families um better looking to attend college. And so, that is on the in the proposal. What's missing? It's uh proposed to be eliminated. Um, and so, as we look back last year in the last budget cycle, a lot of these uh proposals were introduced by the President and the administration um and they failed to uh pass Congress. So, we'll be monitoring that closely as we go into the upcoming budget cycle. And as we pivot our attention to our state budget where we receive uh the bulk of our of our funds, um tax tax receipts are are coming in

017uh favorably. They are beating projections that the governor came out with back in July or June of last year when we adopted the budget for the current fiscal year. There was a revision in January um that was recently released um and revenues are tracking ahead of schedule uh to the tune of $7 billion. Some projections say even $8 billion. April is a big month for California obviously because of the tax day. Uh you can see the daily tracker there um and it looks like the state of California for personal income tax purposes will be um surpassing what the governor's projections are. Um, so these are these are uh this is welcome news and we hope that the added funding will help to fully restore the Proposition 98 minimum guarantee. Um, one of the things that

018I'm sure we'll hear about in the May revision that comes out in a few weeks um that was not a reality back in January was with the um uh geopolitical conflict, the war happening in Iran, the impact on the economy. And so, that's something that the governor I'm sure will take into account, right? Um as he brings forth the updated proposal for uh the upcoming fiscal year when we get that update in May. And we'll be adopting our budget based off of those revisions in May. We'll be using those assumptions. Um There is something in the governor's budget proposal that is of concern. They are manipulating the Proposition 98 minimum guarantee um and underfunding schools by $5.6 billion um and so, continue the advocacy with our local lawmakers and CSBA to make sure that we

019make it known that Proposition 98 um is the law and I know it is a minimum and often times the state legislature look at that as a ceiling for education funding. Um and it sounds like in this situation, they're not even honoring the the the minimum guarantee that is set in stone. Um, but from what we're just following the cash and the tax receipts, the revenue seem to be on track. So, we're hopeful that with that added funding, they use that funding to offset um some of the uh the gimmicks that are um being presented up at the state level. So, those that is some positive news at the state level. As we move on to the next slide, um some recent developments that came out last week, uh Governor Newsom had a closed-door meeting

020uh with members of the Assembly Democrats, the caucus, um and the information was also then relayed to reporters and it's public, it's out there. Um and the governor confirmed to um to the caucus and to the reporters of all that uh despite the revenues coming in $8 billion above projections, um to expect some more reductions as we move forward. So, why the reason for the reductions at the state level if revenues are $8 billion um projected above the projections? Uh it's nothing to do with the Prop 98 education side of the state budget. There's a lot of pressures on the health care side, Medicaid, Medi-Cal uh with the federal funding drying up. Um it's putting a lot of pressures on the non-school side of the budget um and they're using unfortunately the schools um or

021they're looking to use the schools as what they're calling the relief valve, right? Um using the schools or public school funding to help balance the budget. So, that is concerning um and we are monitoring that. I'm sure we'll hear more in the next few weeks when the May revision comes out. Um so, we'll be tracking that very closely. Um talking about health care as we look locally here in uh El Monte City School District, um we're starting to be uh receive initial estimates from our health carriers uh regarding what the uh health increase rates will be for the upcoming year. The graph there that you see is just some national trends as far as increases in health plans over um the past few years or so. Obviously, you never see a a decrease, right? There's

022always a steady increase. Uh from what we're seeing and what we're being told, we'll finalize the rates in the next few weeks as we prepare for open enrollment coming up and we'll distribute that information out to um to our staff members. Um but, we're being told to expect a uh percentage increase in our medical plans uh somewhere in the mid to high single digits, right? Somewhere in the 5 to 9% range or so. So, we're monitoring that closely and as soon as we get that information, we'll distribute it out to our staff members in preparation for our open enrollment uh opportunity when all staff members that are eligible for benefits can sign up for benefits, make changes. Um we start that process sometime in June and our plan year runs October 1st through September 30th.

023Um and as the graph shows there, it's not something that is um just that shows up in El Monte City School District. It's a national trend with the cost of of benefits and premiums increasing over the years. Uh one of the things that uh El Monte City School District um has a legacy of is a strong investment in the benefits and the compensation of its workforce. There's always an opportunity for the selection of a medical, dental, vision, life plan. With a zero out-of-pocket premium. And so that helps to protect and insulate somewhat the take-home pay. And because we know that health care costs is an area where there's a lot of inflation and costs continue to go up and up, right? So that's an investment in our employees. And I'm really proud to be able

024to sustain that going forward. As we look to the next slide and just some data point that we always have shared with the board and the community over the years whenever we're bringing budgets and terms of financial reporting. What you see there is our estimated cola statutory cola funded cola. That's the cost of living increase adjustment that the state puts forward. The increase in funding per student assuming all things are equal. So for 25-26 assuming our enrollment was stable, right? We would receive 2.3% more funding per student. On the next few slides we'll talk about why that's not the case because of declining enrollment. And you can see the history there. As I mentioned earlier, the school district has a legacy of making sure we invest in our staff through two approaches, right? Not only

025on the salary side as you can see the increase to salaries over the years and also an increase to our health and welfare benefits, right? You can see the increase of close to $10,000 over the years from a contribution of $8,300 now at $18,000. And so just some information that we want to share with the community. I know it's not new. We've shared all the time every few months when we bring our interims, our budgets, our audit reports to the board. And that's where we're at. We'll be tracking what the cola will be for the upcoming year, right? As we know that is a big impact to our finances here in the school district. Something as simple as a half percent or a 1% change to the cola has a very profound impact on the

026school budget. So over the years El Monte City School District along with other school districts within LA County in California have experienced declining enrollment, right? If we just look back on the past 10-12 years there, you can see our enrollment has declined there in that graphic by about 25%. Thankfully, we've been able to maintain our staffing overall head count flat. Actually, it sounds like there was a small little modest increase there. And so I want to delve into some of the reasons behind the decline, right? There's some new data that county and state recently released. And you'll see on the next slide what's really driving the decline in our enrollment, right? Birth rates within these three zip codes 91731 through 733 where we have a strong presence in. And I know we share some of

027those zip codes with other neighboring elementary districts, but this gives you a good breakdown. My apologies to anybody born before 1982, but the data goes back to 82. But you can see birth rates within those three zip codes of residence, right? And about 30-35 years ago it peaked and there's been a steady decline. Right? They've been declining. They've been declining. And so with less children being born within our community, you're going to have smaller cohorts that come in at the TK kinder level and so forth. Right? We saw a steep drop-off in 2020, the largest that we've ever seen, a 15% decline year over year in birth rates. And it's not like it bounced back in 2021. The decline continued, right? When we look at 2022 and I know we have 23 and 24 data

028as well. But our TK students that will be starting in August, right? Are those children that were born in 2022, right? So when we try to project what is our TK class going to look like in a few months, right? Well, the birth rates tell us that there was a 5% decline in 2022 compared to 2021. So whatever numbers we see currently, we can expect a cohort size to be probably about 5% smaller next year because that's the way enrollment projections and the math works, right? The kids that are born 4 years later, that's roughly the size of your TK and kinder cohort. So that trend continues. Something else that's that's impacting enrollment is migration flows, right? And so although there's been a big decline over the past two or three decades, migration inflows and

029outflows has helped to mask and soften some of that decline. And what we saw this year and what we'll continue to see going forward with more immigration enforcement and tightened up borders, you're going to see that being impacted further, right? So we will be more more sensitive to the decline in enrollment given the smaller birth rates and the the less migration that we have coming into our community. So on the next slide you'll see some information regarding what we currently stand. Information that I believe we shared in the past with the board, but here's some updated information as of today. As you can see there our enrollment TK through eighth grade is just under 6,700 students, right? And what I mentioned earlier about the grade level cohorts, right? They continue to decline year over year.

030I would point you to our eighth grade class, right? Wonderful class that just partook in the DC trip. 819 students are in that cohort. And as you go year over year, you see the cohort, you know, it fluctuates. Some may be smaller. Some may be a little bit higher in some years, but you'll see a steady decline, right? Look at our third grade cohort, 723 students, right? 100 students less than our eighth grade, right? And that's a big result because birth rates decline year over year and over time you see that decline. What is most concerning is what we're seeing in our first and kinder grade cohorts. You can see we've gone below 600 students. Right? And of most concern is what we see in the TK, right? TK has been fully implemented now for

0312 years. This is the second year that we've had TK fully implemented. Parents know about it, right? And it's not like it's new. It's been around. It's been fully implemented across the state. And you see a big decline, right? And I mentioned the big decline in 2020 with those birth rates. Those are students that are right now in your kinder cohort. So we're monitoring that closely. From what the data tells us, we can expect a decline in enrollment to continue. And you know, that impacts our budget because it's great to have these colas, right? More funding per student, but if you have less students, right? Then you don't actually see a net increase in your revenue. So that's something that we continue to monitor and evolve and see how we can continue to have strong

032robust programs while staying fiscally solvent. And with that, we'll move on to the next slide and turn over to Mr. Solomons. Thank you, Mr. Arro. We're going to close up our evening and our report with some celebratory announcements. We're pleased to share with you our CSEA employee of the year, Susana Vargas from Shirpshire, one of our health specialist. >> [applause] >> So we had the pleasure right before spring break. We sort of tricked her because we were going over there to to recognize one of our retirees. And so she was told that she had to be there to make sure that everything went well for that retiree celebration. And right after celebrating that retiree, we made the announcement with her and and recognized her then. And so we had planned on having her with us

033tonight, but she already had previous plans. So in May Susana will be with us so we can celebrate her in person. And we hopefully will be also bringing in our certificated employee of the year at that time as well to celebrate them. So wonderful news. Congratulations Susana and the Shirpshire staff for a classified employee of the year. Okay, thank you so much for all this information. I'd like to announce our fifth board member is here, Mr. Sessa. He snuck in about 10 minutes ago. Okay, next we have our board reports starting with Miss Kobion. Thank you and good evening and welcome to everyone who's joined us tonight. I just want to share a few quick highlights for me from the last couple of months. And one of them is the board visits that we've gotten

034to do with the superintendent going to see a lot of our schools. And particularly I enjoy in those opportunities getting to talk with the students and hearing their feedback in terms of the programs that they're enjoying and how it affects their future plans and interests. And also when we go in the classroom and they're working on activities, across the board it's it's been really nice to see that the students are not only engaged, but they understand what they're doing and they understand the purpose of the activity that they're in. So really congratulations to all of the teachers who've been working so hard. I know we're getting towards the end of the school year, but it's really great to see all the students engaged in the work that they're doing. And the other thing that was

035a highlight for me this past month was going to the opening of the the new space at Cortada. I think it's a great tribute to the power of community that we have here bringing together a lot of different stakeholders to help support our children. And so I think it's um it's very positive to see in this in this current climate that we all can rally around doing what's best for kids. So just thank you. That's it. And I I do look forward to all of the events that are coming up. I know we have open houses and musical theater and so many different performance opportunities. And and I hope to be able to make as many as I can. Thank you. Mr. Peralta. Uh likewise, I haven't been able to get to as many events

036as as board member Cobian has, but uh I finally got out to go see a Congo Kids competition, which I had never seen before and didn't really know anything about. I took my daughter with me. Uh so, I guess she'll be signing up for Congo Kids next year when she's eligible to do it because she was really interested in doing that. Um beyond that, um I I am also looking forward to the uh to this the musical presentation that's going to happen in in a couple weeks. And that's about all I have right now. Ms. Rivas? Yeah, thank you. I'm also enjoying our board visits to the different schools and just a few days ago visited Cherry Lee and Durfee schools. And you know, the purpose of our visits is just to go and see

037the strategic plan in action, see how it's impacting our students. And um like Mrs. Cobian said, um you know, really you know, a very apparent immediately apparent um takeaway for me is seeing the kids engaged in class and collaborating with collaborating with each other and then on the playground so happy. And um so, really my overall feeling when I visit these schools is just one of like this it this looks like a a wonderful place for children to be and children to learn and it looks like they're they're happy and um they're they're cared for by the adults and they've got friends and the overall feeling is just very very positive whenever we visit these schools. So, it's been great to do these visits, see the strategic plan in action, but really overall get that

038very positive feeling from the students. That's all. Mr. Siegrist? I'll try to be as brief as possible. I'm so happy that we do all of the wonderful things we do for our students. You are so fortunate to live in the city of El Monte, the friendly city. You see this hat? It says Homeboy Industries. Father Boyle is a person that rescues gang kids, gang adults. I'll share this with you. Why did I bring it? Friendly city of El Monte. Many years ago, I taught in the Mountain View School District. Last week, I was having breakfast at Norm's Restaurant. An older gentleman walked by. He had a cap on that said, "Wolf Clan." He said, "Homeboy, have a good breakfast." And he dropped a $50 bill on the table. And I'm going, "Oh my god." So,

039I got up. I went back as he was paying his bill and I said, "Who are you?" He said, "You don't remember?" I go, "No." He said, "Many years ago, you taught my fifth grade child, my grandchild, in the Mountain View District." He said, "And you don't remember that we taught you how to say hello in Navajo." I said, "I remember. Ya'at'eeh." He said, "You're correct." He said, "Remember, you teachers affect lives forever." He said his son went on to the military, or his grandson, became very successful. So, remember that teachers teach you and you also teach us. And I would like to say in closing, every one of you needs to go online today and you need to investigate the Carson Scholarship. It's a thousand dollars. It's one per school, but you have to

040know about it. Carson Scholars. It's going to be open again. And so far, the only person I know that's won it was at Rosemead High School because nobody in our district has ever applied for it. Check out the Carson Scholars. Education is continuous. Keep educating yourself. All of you are online all the time. Use your resources. Investigate the Khan Academy, k h a n. Investigate aprendre.org. Keep your education going. You don't just learn in school, you learn everywhere. So, again in closing, this district has such wonderful things. I go to conferences. Other district board members cannot believe the wonderful things we do. And I will salute all of you and tell you, get involved, do your best, and never tell yourself you can't. You always can. And never forget to ask for help. Thank you,

041and I'm so proud of all of you and our district. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Mrs. Siegrist. And to add to it my fellow board members were sharing our school visits. I was also able to attend Cherry Lee. And what we really try to do as a board is really making sure our visits are intentional. There's so many things that we attend and would love to attend, right? We attend musical theater and service pin recognition and PTA and things. Just think off the top of my head all the things that we did this month, but doing these school visits really provides us just that one hour of protected time that our principals along with student leaders are able to show us and highlight your campuses, your schools, and then also with the focus

042of the strategic plan. And we find that one hour is way too short. Um but the fact that we're just making it that that's our first step of visiting every single school. Um and then hopefully as a year next year, we can maybe expand that time so, you know, we're not just in a rush cuz there's so many great things that you're doing um and thank you for that. And then the last thing I just wanted to share was that Nal the Naleo hosted a listening series here um at the community center. And the Naleo Education Fund engages Latinos and provides national leadership on key issues that affect Latino participation in our political processes. So, we had the CEO, Erica Bernal Martinez, who came and met with local elected officials from the local area. We

043had city council members, of course, representing El Monte City, South El Monte, even us in La Puente came, Baldwin Park. And we it was just an open forum for us to kind of share different issues that we see in our community um that is important to us. Of course, housing came up. And of course, how that directly affects us as a school district is that families need affordable housing. Families need to be able to afford rent and to be able to buy a house. And that correlates when I was I forgot what graphic I was seeing the other day that one of the districts that is having a huge boom in enrollment is Elk Grove in Sacramento. And I remember visiting, so much new development going on. I was even like, "How much are these

044homes?" right? Um so, just thinking about that. And I was I was able also to share too just how even as in a small community of El Monte, how much the impact of like social media and the news and how that also affects our community relationships and trust with with our board with our elected. So, that was something I was able to share with the CEO of Naleo. Um and that's all I wanted to share today. Thank you so much. We'll continue tonight's meeting. With everyone's been waiting for this, our Superintendent Student Advisory Report. Thank you for your patience, students. Yes, thank you. Uh President Mendez and governing board members and community members, it is my privilege and pleasure to introduce our student advisory group. I have to tell you that I I think I

045do lots of fun things in my job and but one of my favorite favorite things to do is work with these this these group of students. Um every single year, the cohort just gets better and better. Their recommendations are always spot on. Um if you ask them, they enjoy coming to the meeting as well. And I don't think it's because they get to hang out with me, it's because they get to taste test food uh that our nutrition department puts on. So, it's just been this wonderful relationship. And uh tonight today is our last student advisory meeting. And so, they have put together a presentation. One of the things that the board asked us to do is to ask the students for input on resolutions. What are the types of resolutions that we would like

046to present to the board every single month that represents who they are and what really is important to them. So, that's just a sneak preview of what's ahead. I'm going to start off by having them introduce themselves and then we'll uh jump into our presentation. Hello, my name is Mason Bastian. I am from Cleminson and I'm in fifth grade. Hello, my name is Saul. So, I'm in fifth grade and I go to Rio Vista. Hello, my name is Anqi Lu and I'm from Shirpser and I'm in sixth grade. Hello, my name is Ana Bel Gizara. I go to New Lexington and I'm from fifth grade. Hello, my name is Eric Flores. I go I'm I go to Potrero School and I'm an eighth grader. Hello, my name is Jayden Rodriguez and I'm in fifth grade

047and I go to Legore. Hi, I'm Alexandria Madueño and and I'm in sixth grade and I go to Legore. >> [cheering and applause] >> Hello, my name is Dominic Bale. I'm in seventh grade and I go to Columbia. Hello, my name is Shaylee Gomez and I'm in Columbia and I'm a eighth grader. Hi, my name is Erica Chavarria. I'm in seventh grade and I go to Potrero. Hi, my name is Zoey. I go to Rio Vista and I'm in sixth grade. Hello, my name is Evelyn Lopez. I go to Cleminson and I'm in grade six. >> [applause] >> I am Nathan Wang from sixth grade in Newlex. Hello, I'm Angel. I go to Cherrilee and I'm in sixth grade. Hello, my name is Calixto Gonzalez. I go to Durfee and I'm in eighth grade. Salutations,

048I'm Arya Hernandez from Cortada and I'm in fifth grade. My name is Railyn Ramirez. I go to Wilkerson and I'm in fifth grade. Hello, my name is Donna Garcia. I am from Rio Hondo and I am in seventh grade. Hello, my name is Sophia Manzo. I go to Durfee and I'm in seventh grade. Hello, I'm Mason and I'm in fifth in sixth grade and I go to Sharpshire. My name is Leon Cruz and I'm from Wilkerson and I'm in sixth grade. Hello, my name is Genesis Martinez. I am in eighth grade and I go to Gidley School. Hello, my name is Mina Win. I go to Rio Hondo and I'm in eighth grade. My name is Ethan Chow. I'm in eighth grade and I go to Frank Wright. So, our students prepared a presentation for

049you. If I'm going to ask the students that will be speaking if you can uh make your way over to the podium. Good evening board members, El Monte City School District leadership, staff, and parents. My name is Genesis Martinez. My name is Mina Win. My name's Ethan Chow. In today's presentation, we will share highlights of what we did during student advisory. These include meeting with district leaders, nutrition experiences, resolution feedback, L Cup spending, and Washington D.C. In one of our earlier meetings, we sat down in the with EMS CSD leaders and staff members to share our ideas and ask questions about programs, nutrition, facilities, and more. This meeting gave us an opportunity to express our ideas to the people who make decisions. An example would be bringing juice boxes to lunch instead of breakfast and

050continue offering hands-on experiences. I really enjoyed it because it was fun and helped us learn about different departments in a district. It was a fun and safe and a safe place where I can stay what I think say what I think and got to meet new people. For the food, we really enjoyed the scratch-cooked meals and the fresh food. All of us enjoy having different cultures represented in our cooking like our chicken dumplings and Jamaican jerk chicken. We also got to work at the central kitchen with the team. It was nice because now we know all the hard work that goes into the cooking. As a team, we reviewed EMCSD resolutions. We read through them all and discussed which ones we think should be changed or added. We would like to replace Cesar Chavez Day

051with a resolution that highlights the social justice and civil rights work that was done by the farm workers during the movement. We noticed that some resolutions seem repetitive and we recommend that these be combined or eliminated. For example, there are four nutrition resolutions and we think we can combine them. We also think that literacy month and Read Across America Week should be combined. We would like the board to consider adding resolutions that celebrate our uniqueness as well as appreciating Earth and the environment. We also gave feedback on where we would like to see our consistent funding. The three most popular categories among the groups are musical activities and experiences, mental health, extra help, and support. For starters, music activities would help improve schools because many students are very passionate about music and if not can

052help spark a passion for for music. And when you have a passion, it can help op- open opportunities for future careers that students may thrive in. We would want to continue seeing supports in mental health because we believe students who have clear minds will do better in school and on tests. Also, focusing on mental health will help students feel more supported on campus. We believe these supports will also encourage students to have motivation to stay consistent in and outside of school, helping helping students achieve personal goals daily. Lastly, extracurricular cur- curriculum help will really affect students because some students may struggle with focusing in classrooms and with this extra help, it can improve test scores, grades, and get back on track with with learning. Meanwhile in D.C., it was really powerful to go see exhibits

053like the Lincoln Memorial and the 9/11 Memorial. Seeing the things we were actively learning about in school right in front of us was really inspiring. It was really fun to travel with friends, going to museum to museum, learning together. We also enjoyed going through the airport, eating together for every meal. It was great for all of us to experience this as a group. The trip also gave us real-world experiences that we will use for many years to come. Things like if we go to college, what is like to learn to live with roommates, how to budget our money and use vouchers, and traveling with such a large group was really fun. And that concludes our presentation. Thank you so much for listening. >> [applause] >> I told you they're amazing. >> Amazing. You know, I

054just have to say that our kids are just so wonderful. When I think about where they will be, the leaders of tomorrow, right? And this is exactly the leadership that we need to see in tomorrow where we want to make sure that we value the uniqueness of every individual, that we're honest and open with ourselves, and we can give feedback that really adds value to the work that we're doing. So, thank you very much. At this time, I'd like to invite the board to please come forward. I'm going to be presenting the students with a certificate of appreciation. Um and so we want to recognize them for um their work and their contributions throughout this year. All right, let's begin with Mason Bastian. >> [applause] >> Evelyn Lopez. Dominic Bello. Shaylee Gomez. >> [applause] >>

055Arya Hernandez. >> [applause] >> Sophia Manzo. Calixto Gonzalez. Genesis Martinez Garcia. Jayden Rodriguez. >> [applause] >> Alexandria Mardueño. >> [applause] >> Anabel Guizar. >> [cheering] >> Nathan Wang. Erica Chavarria. Eric Flores. Donna Garcia. >> [applause] >> Mina Win. Sosa Rangel. Zoe Cardenas. >> [applause] >> Ethan Guzman. Anqi Liu. >> [applause] >> Rayleen Ramirez. Leon Cruz. >> [applause] >> Ethan Chao. And Angel Rodriguez Alfaro. All right, we're going to try to get a group picture in. So. Yes. Here we go. So. We have layers. So, we have one group here that will be on our knees. Kneeling in the front here. So, come on. Let's go our uh fifth and sixth graders. Let's have them come down. And we're going to pull random kids. Some more on this side, too. Center and do that. There we

056go. Seven and eight grade, let's start filing in here. If you're too tall, you go in the back. Fourth members, have you step forward and There you go. Make sure. Sure. Actually, let's have a couple of you and some of you three. Just kind of fill in spots right here. Okay. And you three, do the same thing over here. You just fall in the second row. Second row, second row. Come forward. Nice. Cool. Doctor Shin, you right here? I'm good. I want to stand around while we do that. That's That's what I was looking at. And if you want to take photos, you can take photos and leave. He was trying to answer. Think about it. Yeah. But then he's like, and then he's like, yeah. Let's go scoot over scoot to the back a

057little around the Let's make some more people take photos real quick. Okay. All right, we're good? Yep. All right. Wonderful. Congratulations. You want me to announce it? Yes. Okay, can we stop recording? Are we good? Are we good? All right, thank you. >> [applause] >> You got to bounce the break because we got to get them on buses. If you say we have to get them on buses, then it justifies it. I have one. Yeah, we're going to break right now. Hi, we're going to be taking a short maybe like 3-minute recess just so that our students can um make sure they exit and make it to their bus back on time. Thank you. Okay, we are resuming tonight's Board of Education meeting for the El Monte City School District at 6:05 p.m. All right,

058we're going to continue with our agenda. We have our Nutrition Services presentation by Jenny Lee. Thank you. Um good evening, Board and the El Monte City School District community. My name's Jenny Lee. I'm the director of Nutrition Services, and it is with great honor that I get to present on all things Nutrition Services. First off, I would like to thank the Board and our district leadership as well as our school community for adopting a vision that resonates with each member of our team. Um it speaks to the heart of our work. When we feed bellies and fuel minds, we allow our students to grow, learn, and dream. We empower our students with healthy habits that support their well-being now and into the future. Our meal programs at El Monte City School District are a vital

059component of ensuring academic excellence to all of our students. At the state level, universal school meals highlights that access to meals is essential to student learning. Um our district as well qualifies for community eligibility provision, which removes the administrative burden as well as the um the need for our parents to fill out meal applications. And because we have so many certificated staff in the audience, I also want to especially thank you for your support of breakfast in the classroom, which we celebrate 13 years of success. In addition, we support meals for study trips, um Head Start programs, Saturday programs, anything where our students are out and about learning, exploring, meals are part of that. Um and we also have three registered dietitians that support students with food allergies. You can see our trends here for

060breakfast participation. This is actually an area that we have seen growth um I'm excited about. Um we're at 72% meal participation as of March. Um the state average, I actually was able to pull that information. Um is about 30 to 40%. Wow. Okay. Uh again, thank you to our breakfast in the classroom support. Um we also were able to feature a few new items this year. Um our beloved breakfast uh whole grain cinnamon roll, and we are going to see some muffins be featured on our menus this year and next year. Um we also found that uh adding more protein um has been favorable for our students, and we're seeing that kids are eating more during breakfast. For lunch, we are trending up as well uh with about a 1% increase. The state average is

061around 50 to 60%, and we here at El Monte City School District, 84% of our students are participating. Uh a lot of new items as well. Here's just a few. Um chicken tortilla soup, which I think is being featured next week as well. Our carne asada bowl has been really popular. Uh beef brisket. Um and then as the students mentioned in the uh advisory council uh presentation, our dumplings as well has been a hit. Supper participation has also increased. Uh a shout-out to our El Monte City School District programs as well as our supervision assistants um who helped support the supper for all implementation this year. Um as many of you know, we have supper now open to all students right after the bell. So, regardless if they're in an after-school program, students can swing

062by the cafeteria and have a meal before they go home. We find that this is an area for our greatest opportunity and growth into our coming years. And now we know it's not just school uh access to meals, but also the nutrition that is um part of it. And school meals are nutrition packed. Fruits and vegetables at every meal, whole grains and lean proteins. We have pretty tight restrictions on calories, sodium, trans fats, saturated fats. And new legislation has posed um proposed uh restrictions on added sugars as well. Uh one thing to look forward into next couple years is the implementation of AB 1264, which is the ban on ultra-processed foods, specifically dyes and additives. At El Monte City School District, we are proud of our scratch cooking ventures. Um we're about 45% scratch cooked

063or freshly prepared meals. Our students consume over 13,000 lb of fresh fruit and vegetables a week. Uh and that translates to about four to five fresh fruit produce options every single day. Um we are also really looking into s- uh sourcing our produce from local farmers um through various grants, but we are really blessed to be in a uh agricultural state uh where we have access to a variety of fruits and vegetables. And lastly, we do feature grass-fed beef on our menu, too. Leading into priority area two, um we are we talk about um access to and nutrition, but we also have to make it fun, right? And so, our students have um hands-on experiences as they've shared in the prior presentation um in our cafeteria, in our kitchens, taste testing. Our student advisory council

064got to prepare some meals for our students. We've hosted tours. Um and most notably, we also have started um reintroducing nutrition classes for our parents. And a a shout-out to Chef Alonzo and America Maro, our nutrition specialist who has spearheaded that program. Our fresh fruit and vegetable program is back. Uh this USDA program provides fresh fruit and vegetable snacks to students outside of our meal normal meal programs. Last year, we piloted the program with just two schools, New Lexington and Wilkerson. We learned from that program what it takes, the staffing, the equipment, the systems that we need to make it a success. And this year, we expanded the program to seven of our schools. We also received a $70,000 incentive to support this program um with the emphasis of featuring organic, locally sourced like within

065200 miles produce as well as our three tastings during the week. Over the past several months, our students looked out for the fruit and veggie cart during break recess. Um and thanks to this additional incentive, we've also been able to sponsor Sauté Academy classes for our third grade classrooms. So, not only did our students get to try a variety of fruit and vegetables, some exotic ones like lychee, uh, starfruit, and finger limes, but they also learned how to prepare healthy snacks and meals with them, too. Uh, we have already submitted our grant applications for next school year and we'll look forward to having seven schools, as well. Last October, EMCSD received the Farm to School Incubator Grant, which encourages procurement of California grown produce, as well as learning experience for our students. This grant sponsors

066the Harvest of the Month program, which allows students to taste locally grown fruits and vegetables, supporting our local farmers. This program is currently offered at all of our Head Start classrooms, and you can see that photo right here with little ones. Um, as well as our students that participate in the before school program. We have also used these grant funds to sponsor third grade classrooms, um, to visit Tanaka Farms, um, where they get hands-on agricultural learning. And this year, we have hosted, uh, 14 farmers markets, one at every school campus. Um, the experiences are, um, you know, we partner with Old Grove Orange and they come out and they put together a presentation for our kids. Uh, it was so popular amongst many districts, but this year we decided to also offer it at our

067open houses. Um, so we have a few more next week, um, that we will, uh, be up there. These initiatives help connect our students with their food and their community. Leading into priority area three, and I will admit this one was a little bit of a tough one for me. I When we talk about school nutrition, even from a public health standpoint, we really look at access and nutrition education. Uh, so priority area three, and thanks to this strategic plan, it really challenged us to look at all of our programs with new lens. Um, and it's not just the way we serve our kids with love, dignity, and care, but it's also in the way that we design our programs and our menus. I'll be going into more detail in the next few slides, but

068I did want to highlight that component of priority area three that resonated with our team is the idea that our students do not walk alone in their education. Nutrition Services staff can certainly be their trusted individ- trusted adults, their community. They are from our community. So, we encourage our staff to participate in open house events, back to school events, um, and so that they can really connect not only with the students, but their families. Our district wellness policy also outlines practices that support creating healthy school environments. Uh, so looking at priority area three and really focusing in on our scratch cooking, um, it has been an opportunity for us. The cafeteria is one of the most consistent touch points for our students every single day. Um, and that means an opportunity for us to prepare

069and create meals that, um, really help our students feel seen. Uh, as you know, food plays such an an important role in our identities. Uh, one of the standout initiatives to our scratch cooking is the way we menu plan. Um, prior to the strategic plan, we used to look at, okay, does it meet the standards, right? How does it taste? What does it look like cuz our kids eat with their eyes, right? Uh, preparation methods, um, and certainly cost. Uh, we only have about $2.60 to prepare a lunch, so usually that is our biggest challenge. But now we're looking at our recipes and our menus and asking ourselves, how can our menus promote equity, culture, and belonging? Uh, scratch cooking emphasizes authenticity. Um, and so when we cook their stories, our students' stories, we help

070our students feel seen and valued. This year we've had the opportunity to introduce students to a variety of cuisines, and this is a an area that we are most excited about going into next school year, as well. Um, uh, for example, we, you know, our carne asada bowl is authentic. Uh, we have the carne asada, the rice, the frijoles, um, but we've also introduced some new recipes, as well. Um, back in October, we featured a Filipino-inspired dish. Uh, and one of our cafeteria leads overheard a student say, "Hey, this is something I eat at home. You guys have to try this." And I think that was just it just really validated the work that we had started to um, to start in. Uh, this approach is not just about the food on the plate, but

071also making our students feel at home. Um, it's much like that experience when you go home to your grandma or your mom's house on a rainy day and they have a bowl of fideo waiting for you, right? It's that same experience and we hope to be able to capture that through our menus and the experience that our students have as they walk through our cafeterias. Uh, we also are thinking about how do we create opportunities for our students to connect in community. Um, again, Supper for All has really opened the opportunity for all students to participate, um, and they get to hang out after school and eat their meals, right? Uh, but also this year, for the first time ever, I think, we hosted barbecues at every single school site, not just once, but three

072times. Uh, and I have to just shout out again to Annabelle Cuevas, Gloria Bonilla, and Guillermo Flores for really making this program sustainable. Uh, it used to be a big lift for us, but we found a way to really make it part of the culture of what we do in Nutrition Services. Uh, this past February, we also championed, uh, the No One Eats Alone campaign in partnership with our counselors and, uh, Dr. McLern, um, where we invited our staff, our teachers, our classified staff to enjoy a meal on us, but in community with our kids. Um, and just a few photos there from Sharp so, but there are plenty, I'm sure, across the district as we are still receiving our vouchers. >> [laughter] >> Um, but students and staff really enjoyed this opportunity to connect

073over a meal. In addition, our menus continue to celebrate tradition, um, fun holidays, and we are a part of every event event that we can be. And that leads to our priority area four. Um, when we look at our win-win-win, um, we look at, are we nourishing our students? Are our staff feeling empowered? And do we have a healthy bottom line? Um, and this really helps us align our leadership, our staffing, and our resources with student-centered priorities. A key area of focus are not only aligning programs that directly increase meal participation, which is essential to student success and well-being, but secondly, leveraging grants and maximizing our entitlement funds so that we don't leave a dollar on the table. And lastly, when we invest in, uh, infrastructure and modernizing kitchens and in our staff, we build

074capacity. Uh, so this was a a deep project for us to really look at our investments over the year in Nutrition Services, particularly with the lens of kitchen modernization. Um, you can see last year was a big year for us. We, over the past 3 years, have spent, um, and reinvested about $4 million in modernizing our kitchens. Um, I replaced over 150 pieces of equipment. Um, many of you have seen our new floors in some of our schools. We have four complete, four on the way, and we hope to proceed, um, and complete this project by 2027. Uh, we're also looking into HVAC projects, as well. And just a few photos of the transformation. Our design design philosophy has been efficiency, hygiene, um, and just letting our meals shine. We really want to make sure

075our kitchens look clean and modern, um, and had space for us to prepare our meals more fresh on campus. These are spaces our staff are proud to work in and our students are excited to eat in. Uh, big thank you to our accounting analyst, Eric Tan, Elizabeth Cortez, and our purchasing department for their hard work in making this happen. And I want to end with our team. I, you know, um, with any program or initiative that we plan to implement, we have to have not only the space, the tools, but we also have to have the team that's invested. Uh, for the past few years, our team has lived by this motto, one family, one dream. Una familia, un sueño. That statement unified us in the way that we show up for our kids in

076our community. This year, the strategic plan painted a picture for what that dream is for us. Safe and welcoming spaces for all, where every person is honored with dignity and compassion, professional development that pushes us to learn and grow, so we can better serve our families, and most importantly, a school community that values school meals as an essential component to our students' success. As a team, we started a staff bulletin um this year, where we communicate department updates, but also have used it at as a platform to highlight the practical applications of our EMCSD learner dispositions. Keeping the district's vision and mission always at the forefront of what we do. Over the years, we have prioritized uh full-time employment for our staff. Um I'm proud to say that we are one of very few districts

077in California that has been able to accomplish that. I only know of one other. Um and this has been huge for us. Um as you know, scratch cooking is a labor-intensive um process and approach to school meals. Um and not only that, it requires a staff a team that has the skill set to do so. So, our professional development has been ongoing and robust. We have not only focused on culinary skills and compliance topics, but also leadership, communication, as well as computer skills for our team. These initiatives ensure our staff is well equipped to support our mission of priority prioritizing student needs. When we invest in our team, the return is clear. Higher morale, better quality meals, and more students served. A win-win-win. And so, with this I end. Um next Friday, May 1st, is

078School Lunch Hero Day. Um I would like to ask the board and our school community to join me in celebrating our school nutrition heroes. Um a big thank you to all of our team members uh for our your dedication, your heart, and your hard work in nurturing our students to achieve beyond limits. >> [applause] >> Thank you so much for such a great presentation. >> Thank you. And from that, if we can maybe possibly add a future um central kitchen tour. A tour? Add a tour one of these days. Or a few more of the taste testing that we get once in a while. You'll Well, so I'll share with you as we were concluding our student advisory group. I said, "Is there anything you would like to see what worked this year? You know,

079what how can we add value to these meetings?" And they said they wanted to spend the entire day at the central kitchen. I think they had a blast. You do have to wear a hair net, Mrs. Mrs. Garcia, but I think you'll rock it. Thank you. Um on a personal note, I wanted to thank uh our board and our district leadership and our school community for your confidence and trusting me over the years. It has been truly an honor serving our students in our community. Um I'm really sad that this will be my last school year, uh but I am leaving with a full heart and more passion for what I do. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you so much, Annie. You have done such an amazing job um supporting our students on money

080city school district and just going above and beyond with thinking um like outside the box and how we can continue to push those limits. And thank again, thank you so much for all these of service and wish you luck on your next endeavor. Thank you. Good job. Awesome job. Okay. Next, we're moving on to communications. We'll begin with our public comments. First up, we have Mary Esther Espinosa. >> [cheering] [applause] >> It's on. Robert. I I want his job next. I think Robert has 10,000 steps just in the board meeting alone tonight. Right? He's earning it tonight. Um I'd like to yield my time to uh Wilkerson parent, Jesus. I didn't ask his last name, but I did have the pleasure of meeting him. Come on, Jesus. Quick, quick. >> [applause] >> Thank you so

081much. Uh I got invited. I'm actually a parent from Samuel Gonzalez. Some of you might know him. I'm not a teacher, but I thought that it was kind of my duty. Uh good evening, board uh or members of the board. So, my name is Jesus Covarrubias. I'm a local business owner and a father. Some of you might know me from Integral Business Online. I help the local community out with all their small businesses. So, I was raised here in El Monte and I attended Wilkerson, Columbia, El Monte High. I've also done after-school programs to South El Monte and Mountain View. Uh I've always been proud of this city, and I was fortunate to have teachers who made a real impact on my life. Teachers who pushed me, believed in me, and guided me towards college

082and well, higher education. Because of that foundation, I've been able to give back to my community. Uh but today, I feel a little bit conflicted as a lot of us do. I'm here to raise awareness about the proposed teacher salary increase. Uh our committee put forward a 5% raise. Uh to put that into simple terms, by the way, uh for every dollar, that is 5 cents. Okay? The district counteroffer was not three, it was not two, it wasn't even 1%. It was half of that. Actually, it was three quarters of that. Sorry, you know, math wasn't my best study. But, for every dollar, that's less than a penny. In fact, that's a fraction of a penny. And I think it's important that we really sit on that. Because this isn't just about numbers on paper,

083it was about what those numbers represent. We hear that inflation is around 3.3%, but anyone living in California knows that the real cost of living, house, food, gas, and basic necessities has increased far beyond that. I know we all feel it. So, anything below that threshold is not a raise, it's a pay cut. Meanwhile, neighboring districts are making different decisions. LAUSD has approved increases as high as 11%. So, I have to ask, are we really saying that our teachers in El Monte are worth less than 1%? Really? Well, I guess, because of what that communicates. So, today, I'm asking this board to to take our teachers seriously. A 7% raise is not excessive, and we're asking for five. It's reasonable. It's justified. Anything less sends a message that their contributions are being undervalued, and that

084is not the message this community should stand behind. Again, I'm just a parent. I'm not even a teacher, but these people showed up today here [cheering] because they care. >> [applause] >> Thank you, guys. >> [cheering] [applause] >> Next, we have Veronica Benya. >> [applause] >> Um good evening, board administrators. I was here last month, and I shared that chapter 10 CSEA chapter Sorry, 356 El Monte permit teachers got selected for the ACE program. And Steve has been taken off diaper duty cuz he's been the only one who responded to Raquel Barber's email about um shadowing. So, he's going to do lunchtime now. So, I'm just asking to please look at We're going to put it Oh, nap nap. Okay, nap time. So, he'll he'll have nap time duties. Uh an email was sent to

085you guys April 1st um right before spring break, and then on when uh we returned back from spring break, and then along with the survey. So, we're really hoping for your participation, so you can come shadow the Head Start Early Head Start program and the blended the inclusion classrooms. So, hope to hear from you soon. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Next, we have Pedro Galindo. >> [cheering] [applause] >> Good evening, board members. Um I normally have come to speak about safety, which is a top priority for our members, but equally important is salary and benefits. So, I've been asked to read a message from one of our members who would like to remain anonymous. Dear Board of Education members, I am writing to formally request an increase in teacher compensation to address the current salary

086bargaining situation. I have been teaching for 20-plus years and I've always enjoyed teaching until the last couple of years. The last years have been particularly stressful caused by misbehaved at-risk students. My personal experience underscores the urgency of this plea as I seriously considered leaving the teaching profession due to these factors. The current climate demands dedicated educators to wear multiple hats of responsibilities that dilutes from the inculcation of students toward learning. This creates a hopeless feeling that forces many to leave professions prematurely. The district's current offering of 0.75 raise is a slap in the face of the many dedicated teachers that maintain the core of the education system. Therefore, it is essential that the district make a greater pay adjustment and more affordable benefits package that is essential to retain experienced staff and improve the overall

087education environment. Our students deserve to have teachers that are adequately compensated for their efforts because they are the ones who benefit. And I would like to address that's the that's the end of the statement. I also want to address the issue of declining enrollment. EMETA recognizes the enormous financial impact of declining enrollment. However, EMETA holds firm to the notion that EMCSD must adjust accordingly and to not expect EMETA members to absorb the consequences of reduced funding. Even with declining enrollment, EMCSD has hired 30 new management positions since 2019. So, the question really is about priorities. We know that teacher safety is not a part of the strategic plan. We know that teacher compensation is not a part of the strategic plan. But, we are here today to demand that it becomes our priority. Safety and

088proper compensation. Thank you. >> [cheering] [applause] [cheering] [applause] >> Next we have Elena Brown. >> [cheering] [applause] >> Many of us are here today because we care deeply about our district, but care should not be mistaken for complacency. Our demands are for dignity, respect, and compensation that truly reflects the value of our labor. The district's counter offer to increase our salaries by 0.75 is unacceptable. It sends a clear message about whose work is valued and whose isn't, especially as the expectations of our positions continue to increase without adequate financial support. If this district is serious about academic excellence, then it must invest in the people who make that excellence possible. When educators are expected to do more with less, when we subsidize our classrooms out of pocket, when we take on expanding leadership roles without

089compensation, and when we're asked to meet the rising demands without meaningful support, then that is exploitation. And that exploitation directly impacts our students. Equity for students is impossible without equity for educators. This district's reluctance to fairly compensate its educators and its its refusal to incorporate stipends for extra duties or certificates is disheartening. If we prioritize high-quality instruction, then why wouldn't we incentivize and additional certificates? For example, did you know that almost all of our SLPs in our district have received a CCC? It's an optional national credential that goes above and beyond basic state licensure and adds benefits to this district. To maintain the CCC, SLPs must complete 30 hours of continuing education units every 3 years out of pocket. SO, THESE STIPENDS WOULD BE investments for our students. SLPs with CCCs can reduce our legal

090risk by ensuring evidence-based practice stronger services and stronger IEP compliance. This higher standard of clinical practice significantly reduces the district's risk of costly due process hearings or legal disputes regarding student progress and IEP compliance. This is specialized labor and it deserves additional compensation. Yet, our district isn't incorporating stipends for these types of certifications. Meanwhile, LAUSD provides its members with a 7.5% salary increase for holding national certification. AND I KNOW WE'RE NOT LA, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, HOW CAN WE CLAIM [screaming] ONE OF OUR PRIORITY AREAS IS TO ENSURE academic excellence for all when educators aren't being rewarded for excellence in their own professional development? THAT'S WHY OUR DISTRICT needs to consider its position on salary and stipends. If we truly value strong instruction and PD, otherwise, we're going TO HAVE A HARD TIME retaining

091quality educators. It's time for the district to meet us with the same commitment we show OUR STUDENTS EVERY DAY. WHAT DO WE WANT? >> [cheering] >> WHEN DO WE WANT IT? WHAT DO WE WANT? WHEN DO WE WANT IT? >> [applause and cheering] [applause] >> NEXT WE HAVE OSCAR PINTO. >> [applause and cheering] >> ALL RIGHT. UH GOOD EVENING, BOARD MEMBERS, Superintendent Dr. Garcia, fellow educators. My name is Oscar Pinto and I am a language arts teacher at Potrero School. I am here to address the district's latest counter offer to EMETA in the context of rising costs across Southern California. This is a bread and butter issue, one that is being discussed at our kitchen tables. Recent consumer price index data shows clear increases in essential expenses. Meat prices have risen between 2.7 to 5%,

092beef leading the the uh leading due to supply issues. Bread and dairy are up 2 to 4% percent. Vegetables 3 to 6% and medication has increased by more than 5%. Gasoline has been the steepest rise, increasing between 10% to 20%, driving up the cost on nearly everything else. In that context, a 0.75 counter offer does not uh it does more than fall short. It sends a message. It impacts morale, affects our quality of life, and places added strain on our members and their families. It also risks eroding the professional relationship between the district and its educators. Is this the bargaining Is this what bargaining in good faith looks like? I would ask my members, if you feel insulted by this counter offer, please raise your hand. I understand that bargaining is strategic on both sides.

093However, this proposal does not uh reflect the economic realities our members are facing. I also want to highlight the broader impact. As educators, our role extends beyond the classroom. Fair compensation allows us to advocate for our students and our community. For example, many of us are deeply concerned about the proposed data centers and battery storage facilities in El Monte City and their potential impact in our environment, power grid, and water supply. A proposed data center in uh in the Mountain View district. Uh So, I would also want to say I would like this board to consider a resolution banning data centers uh in our district. When educators are fairly compensated, we have the capacity to show up, to attend meetings, speak out, and invest in our community. But, we are forced to take If we're

094forced to take on second jobs just to make ends meet, that engagement disappears and with it the district's ability to retain and attract strong educators is weakened. I close by respectfully urging the district to bargain in good faith and to add dates to the bargaining calendar to make up for this lost time. And I'll conclude by saying we don't want ice in El Monte, we don't want data centers, no battery storage centers. I thank you for your time and for listening. >> [applause and cheering] >> Next we have Garrett Ching. >> [applause and cheering] >> I will be speaking on behalf of a member who would like to stay anonymous. Good evening, EMETA members, school board members, Superintendent Dr. Garcia, Assistant Superintendents, Administrators, colleagues, and guests. My name is Mr. or my name is Garrett

095Ching and I am a music teacher for El Monte City School District. I am speaking this evening regarding the district's counter proposal of a 0.75% salary increase. This offer is disappointing and does not reflect the value of the educators who serve our students every day, nor does it acknowledge the seriousness of the concerns we raised in proposing a 6% increase. Our proposal is neither excessive nor unreasonable. It is responsible and grounded in the realities our members face: rising costs, increasing demands, and expanding expectations. In contrast, the district's response suggests that educators can be asked to do more without being meaningfully meaningfully compensated for the work they perform. A 0.75% increase is not a meaningful investment in the people who make this district function. It does not keep pace with cost of living pressures. It does

096not reflect the workload educators carry and it does not demonstrate respect for the professionalism, time, and commitment our members bring to this district. Our members continue to show up for the students with dedication, skill, and care. They do far more than deliver instructions. They build relationships, respond to increasing academic and behavioral needs, communicate with families, support school programs, and provide the stability students need to succeed. They do this work because they believe in public education and in this community. However, that commitment cannot continue to be met with compensation proposals that fall so clearly short of what is fair. Appreciation expressed in words must be reflected in action. If the district truly values its educators, that value must be demonstrated at the bargaining table through a proposal that recognizes the work our members do and its

097role they play in sustaining the district. This is more than a single percentage point. It is about the district's ability to recruit and retain strong educators, maintain morale, and ensure students are served by professionals who feel respected, supported, and fairly compensated. A 0.75% increase does not meet that standard. It is not competitive, not responsive to current conditions, and not sufficient. It is difficult to reconcile public expression of appreciation for educators with a proposal that does not reflect their contributions. We are asking the board to do more than express thanks for educators' services. We are asking you to lead by directing the district to return to the table with a proposal that reflects the true value of its employees and a genuine commitment to the long-term strength of this district. Our educators deserve more than symbolic

098appreciation. They deserve meaningful action. Thank you. >> [cheering and applause] [applause] >> Next, we have Shontel Cravens. >> [cheering and applause] >> Signs says it all. We want to be valued and show us the money. Um some of us are at the suns sunset of our careers. This is my 36th year serving this district. >> [cheering] >> I've been told or you know years ago you helped put El Monte on the map when it came to the gifted and talented program, which was 25 years in my career in this district. Um 0% last year with the 2% one-off. That's not helping my retirement. That's a lifetime loss for me and us. So, no. No. Let's go back to the table in good faith and compensate our employees. Show us what we're worth to you cuz

099our community values us. >> [cheering] [applause] >> Tiana Tang, no? >> [applause and cheering] >> Good evening, everyone. I'm here for a two-part speech. One I'm reading it from a member and then I'll say a few words of my own. So, sorry. You can't see. Getting that age. Got to flip. All right. Sustainable education See, you can't do technology either. No, that was not me running the tech fair. All right, here we go. Sustainable education requires an equitable distribution of resources. When the gap between administration and instructional pay continues to widen it creates a challenge and a message to us educators. It widens and it's hard to maintain the high standard of educations. Teachers' compensation must remain competitive and reflective of the vital role we play. Now, we do a lot of things. We are

100the one that are in front of the children. We are the one that have to direct impact on student. Guess what? Just like home, happy wife, happy life? Well, happy teacher, happy classrooms, happy kids. So, what do we want? >> [cheering] >> WHEN DO WE WANT IT? >> [screaming] [applause] >> DO WE HAVE ANY UM WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS? YES, we do have two written communications that have come forward that I will be sharing with the board. Okay, thank you. And the communication section always provides an opportunity for our the public, right? Whether it be parent or staff members to communicate to the board and although as board members we cannot respond, we always listen very carefully about everything that is shared with us during these public comments. So, thank you so much. Next, we will be

101moving on to closed session item pursuant to government code 5495.7.6 conference with labor negotiators EMECTA, CSEA 10, and CSEA 356. Thank you. We are resuming the El Monte School District Board of Education meeting at 7:38 p.m. Moving on to item J, approval of minutes. Do I have a motion for the consideration of approval of the March 9th, 2026 board meeting minutes? Moved. Oh, thank you so much. We resumed from closed session regarding conference with labor negotiators and no action was taken. Now, we're moving on to approval of minutes. Do I have a motion for the consideration of approval for the March 9th, 2026 board meeting minutes? So moved. Motion by Ms. Peralta. Is there a second? I'll second. Second by Ms. Rufus. All in favor say any discussion? All in favor say I. I. Any

102opposed? I'll abstain. Motion carries 4-0. Next, we have report EMCSD Williams Uniform Complaint Policy for the 2025-2026 quarter three report. Okay. Um thank you. This evening before you just um for informational purposes is the third quarter Williams Uniform Complaint um procedure document. Uh this is a quarterly um requirement that we must um send send in submit to Los Angeles County Office of Education. Uh the third quarter runs from January 1st through March 31st and the Williams um Uniform Complaint oversees credentialing, facilities, and curriculum availability. Uh and for the third quarter we had zero complaints. Thank you. Next on the agenda is public hearing. Public hearing regarding CSEA and its Chapter 356 sunshine proposal for negotiations for the 2025-2026 school year. The Educational Employment Relations Act EERA specifically specifically government code section 3547 requires that all

103initial proposals of the exclusive reser- representative and the district which relate to matters within the scope of the representation be presented at a public meeting of the governing board. In large part, the purpose of the sunshining requirement is to inform the public about the issues to be negotiated, to afford the public a full opportunity to express their views on the issues, and for the public to know the positions of their elected representatives. CSEA and its Chapter 356 have presented their initial proposals for the 2025-2026 reopener negotiations with El Monte City School District. Is there anyone who wishes to comment on the CSEA 356 initial proposal? Let the minutes reflect the El Monte City School District has received a sunshine proposal from CSEA and its Chapter 356. Next on the agenda, we have our action and

104consent. Are there any items at this time that a board member would would like to pull to vote on separately? None at this time? Do we have a motion for the action and consent agenda? I'll make the motion. Motion by Ms. Cobian. Is there a second? I'll second that. Second by Mr. Segura. Um all in favor say I. I. Any discussion? I apologize. Let me go back. Any discussion? All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? The motion carries 5-0. Okay. Moving on to our action section section, we have consideration of adoption of resolution for the 2025-2026 school year number 38 to initiate a regular governing board election on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2026. President Mendez and governing board members, as required by Ed Code section 5000, districts across Los Angeles County take formal action to

105begin the process in coordination with the Los Angeles County Office of Education and the County Registrar-Recorder. This resolution ensures our district remains aligned with those requirements and allows the election process to move forward as scheduled on November 3rd, 2026. Do we have a motion? I move to approve item one. Okay, motion by Ms. Rivers. Is there a second? >> I'll second. Second by Ms. Peralta. Are there any questions or discussion? All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? The motion carries 5-0. Next, item two, consideration of approval to adopt resolution for the 2025-2026 school year number 33, celebration of the Day of the Teacher on May 13th, 2026. President Mendez and governing board members, our teachers play an extraordinary role in shaping the lives of our students each and every day. They create engaging learning

106environments, inspire curiosity, and help students build the confidence and skills they need to succeed. Their work reflects both deep professional commitment and genuine care for the children and families that we serve. We're also grateful for the partnership of the EMETA, the El Monte Teachers Association, which has long supported our certificated staff and contributions, excuse me, contributed to the strength of our district community. This resolution provides an opportunity for the board to formally recognize and celebrate the dedication, professionalism, and lasting impact of our educators. Thank you. Is there a motion for item two? I'll make the motion. Motion by Ms. Cobian. Is there a second? I'll second. Seconded by Ms. Rivas. Are there any questions or discussion? All in favor say I. I. I. The mo- Any opposed? The motion carries 5-0. Next, we have consideration

107of approval to adopt resolution for the 25-26 school year, number 34, Classified School Employee Week, which runs from May 17th to the 23rd. President Mendez Garcia and board members, our classified employees are essential to the daily life of our schools and throughout the district. Whether they're supporting instruction, maintaining safe and welcoming campuses, transporting students, preparing meals, assisting families, or ensuring that all of our operations run smoothly, their contributions are felt in every corner of our district. Their work directly supports student success and help creates the conditions that allow teachers and teaching to learn and thrive. We also want to recognize and thank CSEA Chapter 10 and Chapter 356 for their ongoing partnership and advocacy on behalf of our classified staff and our broader school community. Thank you. Is there a motion for item three? So

108moved. Uh motion by Mr. Peralta. Is there a second? I'll second. Seconded by Ms. Rivas. Are there any questions or discussion? All in favor say I. I. I. Any opposed? The motion carries 5-0. Next, we have item four, consideration of approval of resolution for the 25-26 school year, number 35, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. President Mendez Garcia and governing board, for your consideration this evening, the res- this resolution recognizes the diversity of Californian California's Asian American and Pacific Islander student population, representing approximately 12% of K-12 students. It honors their rich cultural heritage and acknowledges the significant contributions of Asian and Pacific Islander communities to the state's economic growth and social fabric. Thank you. Is there a motion for item four? I'll make the motion. Motion by Ms. Cobian. Is there a second? Second. Seconded by

109Ms. Peralta. Are there any questions or discussion? Only I'd like to suggest that we add additional ethnic groups. I just found out that LMU is now teaching ethnic studies for Irish Americans, because I don't think we should leave any ethnic groups out, and apparently our policy is only four people, four different ethnic groups, and I believe the United States is composed of more than four ethnic groups. Thank you. Okay, thank you. All in favor, um say I. >> I. I. I. Any opposed? The motion carries 5-0. Next, item five, consideration of approval of resolution for the 25-26 school year, number 36, National Mental Health Awareness Month. President Mendez Garcia and governing board, for your consideration this evening, this resolution highlights mental health as a major cause of disability affecting millions of children, adolescents, and adults

110in California. It underscores the importance of increasing awareness, shared lived experiences, and reducing stigma to improve access to mental health support and treatment. Thank you. I'll make the motion. Is there a second? I'll second. Seconded by Ms. Cobian. Are there any questions or discussion? All in favor say I. I. I. Any opposed? The motion carries 5-0. Next, we have consideration of approval of memorandum of understanding with EMETA regarding the 26-27 instructional calendar. Thank you. Uh before you tonight for consideration of approval is a memorandum of understanding agreement between EMCSD and EMETA, our teachers union, uh regarding the 26-27 instructional calendar. Uh most notable is our uh start of uh August 12th, which is a Wednesday, and so that'll be our welcome back uh pre-service day uh with the Thursday and Friday also being student-free um

111professional development days. Our first uh day of instruction would actually be Monday, August 17th. Um and in this agreement are uh five uh what we've been called our enrichment days, which are non-instruction days, uh where we hope to uh maximize and utilize our funding to continue with all the wonderful things that we offer for our students. Thank you. Is there a motion for item six? I move to approve item six. >> Motion by Ms. Rivas. Is there a second? I'll second that. Seconded by Mr. Siegrist. Any questions or discussion? All in favor say I. I. I. Any opposed? The motion carries 5-0. Next, we have our board policy updates, first reading. Which we'll do together. Yes, as one. The This first batch, uh our first reading, these are new policies that have been um introduced

112or updated um to reflect uh laws and policy changes. Um the- These are recommended by CSBA and vetted out by departments uh here throughout the district and cabinet. Perfect, thank you. Do we have a motion for approving the first reading of our board policy updates? I'll make the motion. Okay, motion by Ms. Cobian. Is there a second? >> I'll second that. Seconded by Mr. Siegrist. Are there any questions or discussion on any of these? All in favor say I. I. I. Any opposed? The motion carries 5-0. And next, I know we are now going to review some second reading updates. That is correct. So, as you recall at our last meeting, um the last two meetings, we uploaded incorrect policies, so we had made some changes and just some clerical errors on our end to

113update the ones that were actually updated. So, what you see before you this evening are the three uh policies that were introduced a few months ago that the board had a chance to review. The board made some recommendations, and so we took we brought those back. Uh we made those updates, and now they reflect um the changes that the board wanted to see. So, the first one is a technology uh plan update. The second policy uh deals with artificial intelligence. And the third policy is um around social media. Is there a motion for item P, which is the second reading for our board policy updates? So moved. Okay, motion by Ms. Peralta. Is there a second? >> I'll second. Seconded by Ms. Cobian. Any questions or discussion? Um I just want to say I I

114appreciate the changes that were made. I think they they fully reflect what our goals are for the district, and kind of look forward to seeing what comes next, cuz I know we're going to have some committees to develop these plans more fully for us, so thank you. Yeah, very important topic right now, very relevant. All in favor say I. I. I. Any opposed? The motion carries 5-0. Next, we have our future discussion items. Are there items a board a board member like to add for a future agenda or study session? I think I would just be um curious to see what the students came up with with uh the sort of your takeaways from the student um advisory group. Absolutely, and I do have um some additional recommendations that they finished working on regarding cell

115phones, and so we're building those into the cell phone policy that I will be sharing um with our stakeholders and bring back to the board as well. And then um I will also be presenting to the board the final list of resolutions that they um would like to see come forward. It was It was a wonderful, wonderful conversation, and I just want to thank the board for um allowing us to include the students in that conversation. All right, anyone else? Yes. Yes, Mr. Siegrist. Um I'm not sure if this would be under discussion or not, but we all need to know that right now on the internet, there's a lot of negative publicity about El Monte Promise, and we have to correct that because it can really hurt us. I I'm proposing that we have

116a presentation from El Monte Promise, so we know what it is, because when people are asking me, and I have to confess, I know little about it. I think we really for the good of the El Monte Promise, we really need to come and have a presentation, so we can talk sensibly about what it is. Thank you. There's a lot of negative stuff on Facebook. Sorry. All right, thank you, Mr. Siegrist. Anyone else? I have something else. I Okay. >> I'll I'd like to have an update on dual immersion for the community colleges, and also an update on dual in- dual language in I'd like to see us do Vietnamese, because I'm about to talk with the president of the Sriracha company. Maybe we can get him to fund it. He's a billionaire, so maybe

117he'll help. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Make note of that. Okay. So, then that adjourns tonight's meeting at 7:53 p.m. Thank you.