001And then we started a little bit. Okay, I'd like to call this meeting to order. This is the June 16th, 2025 meeting of the Elmani City School District Board of Education. We call the meeting to order at 50:06. I'll begin with roll call. Mrs. Kobian, present. Mr. Verala present. Mrs. Menddees Garcia is absent. Mr. Seagrist present. And Rivas present. Will you please stand and join me with the for the flag salute? Ready. Begin. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Uh we'll begin with cabinet reports. Dr. Garcia. Thank you, President Rivas. Good evening, everyone. Um really uh excited to kick off today's cabinet update in particular uh because we
002are I'm going to just tell you what the grand finale looks like. we put together a video um to celebrate the end of the year and celebrate all of the wonderful things that happened throughout the year to thank people uh to acknowledge all of the accomplishments. Um and so I'll turn it over to Mr. Eda so he can kick it off with some business services and stay tuned for this wonderful video. Thank you, Dr. Garcia. First up is an update on the state budget. No um budget has been signed yet at the state level. Um, however, last week the legislature, the state senate, and the state assembly uh announced a deal. It's obviously a two-party agreement. There's three parties that are necessary uh to finalize the state enacted budget. The third party being the governor.
003Um, so the proposal comes out for the upcoming fiscal year in January, right? There's a revise to that in May called the May revision. Um, and there's obviously negotiation going back and forth between the legislature and the governor until a budget is signed and enacted into state law u before the start of the fiscal year. So, some of the details um that are present in the legislature budget deal that was released last week. Again, this is not the final deal, but it's the legislator's agreed upon deal that um obviously there will be some negotiations back and forth between um the Senate and assembly leader and the governor. So, some of the highlights there is reductions in funding um in the student support discretionary block grant funding. So, what does that mean for Edmonton City School
004District? We were supposed to receive about $2 million of funding in that uh discretionary block grant next year. Uh given the May revised funding levels, a reduction of $1.2 billion would scale that back by about 75%. The literacy and math coaches funding was also decreased by about $355 million. Um that was an exciting funding proposal that many of our schools were going to qualify for next year. And so with the funding being decreased, uh we'll see how that impacts our schools. Based off of the May revision, we were expecting about one and a half million dollars of literacy and math coach funding for next year. Uh this is a significant scale back in funding as proposed by the state legislature. Um and so that was scaled that back significantly. Um something else that was brought
005forward was a Proposition 98 recalculation uh which is ultimately going to impact all TK through 12 schools if enacted. Um it reduces the TK through 12 um school funding by $260 million and increases community colleges by that same amount. So uh for Mont City School District that's probably roughly about $400,000 that it would impact us by. Now there are some funding increases. Uh we don't have the details yet. Uh but there is an increase in a program called the student teacher stipen program. Increases the funding by $500 million. I presume that's funding related to assisting student teachers with or the districts help offset the cost of the stipens. Uh there's an increase as well with career technical education funding increase of $150 million. And lastly, there's a small increase of $20 million to the kitchen
006infrastructure training funding. So if you look at the state um legislators budget agreement that they put forward, overall there's um less funding uh coming to Atlanta City School District if that gets enacted. Um that's as compared to the May revision. Obviously, there's some back and forth between the legislature and the governor. Um sometime towards the end of June, uh beginning days of July, the final budget will get signed and we'll bring forward any changes to the August board meeting. Uh within 45 days, we have to present a budget revision to the board for any material changes. So, we're monitoring that. We'll bring information forward as it becomes available. Uh another exciting announcement, as we do every year, we're feeding the community, right? anybody 18 and under this summer even though um the traditional school year
007um has concluded as of last week. We continue with our summer feeding program there at the uh sites throughout the community, right? And we're actually feeding throughout the entirety of the summer at Columbia School all the way up until August 7th, right? And so uh we know that there's a lot um of food insecurity and and we want to do our part to make sure that we provide resources to families, right? Um um at their local community. Now, with the conclusion of summer school on July 3rd, um you know, we are going to uh scale back our feeding programs at those sites, but we will still stay open at Columbia School and keep the feeding operations going in the morning for breakfast um in the uh during the lunch window as well all the way
008up until August 7th. Uh and then we come back to school the following week. And at our next board meeting next Monday, we'll be bringing forward a proposal um for the board to review uh and act on related to our digital billboard project that uh we are moving forward with. Um the proposal that we have reviewed with legal counsel and received is from outfront media. Uh the proposal brings forward a guaranteed rental income annually of $140,000 with the ability of that um revenue or income to go up to $300,000 uh should the vendor meet their ad um target goals. And so the next steps on this obviously is the board to review the agreement um to act on it and then we will then work to finalize the design. Uh the vendor will work with
009the city planning commission to make sure that that gets approved. um in accordance with the local uh building codes and the project is expected to last 12 months in duration. Good evening, President Rivas and governing board and community. Um I just wanted to take this opportunity to really thank you all for your leadership and support of um our enrichment programs that we've had um before and after school um inter sessions uh enrichment Fridays all of it extending learning um beyond the classroom which has really um been wonderful for our students um and our families have been so very pleased with what we're providing. And so, you know, we had our before and after school programs, our enrichment um cheer was super popular. Uh they just had their their um tournament, well, what was it called?
010A showcase um last a couple of weekends ago. Um and it was very well attended and the students were just so excited. And on the same day, we actually had Lego League taking place over at Dery School. And that was another really exciting um opportunity. I I already told Mr. Galindo that we needed to make sure we had more girls in the Lego League program um because it's it's highly right now it's mostly boys but we have some girls in there. So that's a goal for us to um expand that. And then our Vietnamese culture club was really really successful this year and we're looking forward to that continued partnership that we have with um with professor from Cal State Fullerton and some um dual uh language teachers. Um, our mariachi program has been very
011successful and it only has um the only way is up for them now. They they are very good at what they do, our allstars. Um, and so we're looking at expanding that. Um, and for those of you who were at Colombia, you saw that they actually utilized their um their mariachi to um sing the alma mater. So I think they said they mariachiized their alma mater, which was really neat. Um and then we had a lot of wonderful sports opportunities through parks and wreck and through kids play um and soccer for success that our students participated in. And then again, you know, um so we have the physical, we have the arts, uh we have steam um or STEM and um and then we had our our musical theater um and those wonderful trips to
012Sacramento and Washington DC that our students will never forget. So all this was um due to your commitment um to bringing learning beyond the classroom um and really expanding that learning and being able to provide all of these opportunities for our students. And so I just wanted to share that all of out of our students 68% of our students were enrolled in some type of enrichment programming either before or after school through the sports through clubs musical theater model UN just everything that we had um as opportunities. Um so next year we're really looking forward to um you know really enhancing that and uh tying it into um actually almost like a mini CTE pathway for some of our students and you know so some career pathways but also tying in keeping the arts in
013there and in science and so forth. So, we're really excited about next year. And then I just wanted to share that um at the beginning of next year, we will again be utilizing those first five days to really um focus on building relationships, you know, um helping students to feel secure when they come to school, knowing they have a safe uh place and they have adults who care and advocate for them. And so, we have a plan um for the first 5 days. It includes um you know community building through community circles, getting to know you activities. We'll continue to use ourCCL lessons from Second Step. And then we'll take that time to also set expectations through establishing I should say co-establishing classroom norms uh with students um focusing on those uh first eight days
014of the leader and me and then on some digital citizenship lessons. And this is also a good time to start creating routines for students so that we can minimize um that anxiety, help with smooth transitions, and create calm, organized classrooms. So, this is the first part of the plan. Um we had the second part of the plan in January, which is a good time to bring it back um coming back from winter break. So, we're really um looking forward to being able to implement this again. Well, good evening. Just wanted to uh kind of highlight uh what has taken place in personnel aside from uh the normal hiring process. Uh we do uh showcase a few other events throughout the year that we that we are in charge of. Uh first we just want to
015recap our our 21st annual Run for Your Heart. Um and we had Dery and Colombia as our sweep stakes winners uh this year. Uh and so there are some pictures of some of the groups um that participated that day. And again, thank you for your support uh in this annual event and thank you to a Royal High School's cross country team um that um really do a large portion of it once we're there that day at the event. And so it was an exciting event. Looking forward to the 22nd annual next year um probably a little earlier in the year than what we did early May. Um trying to work that out with the Royal so we can set dates uh this right now. So, and then um just uh highlight our our annual service
016pin mixer uh where this year we had approximately 160 uh individuals with uh almost uh 1,600 years of service combined. Um, so we celebrated them all and there's just a few a small portion of those that showed up and took pictures and and you see um some of the uh the recipients and then their support staff you might say or the support people that that came just to cheer them on as well uh hopping in the pictures with them. So uh another exciting uh an annual tradition here um at the Almani City School District. Uh something that's probably taken place for at least 30 plus years uh with a few name changes over the time. So, uh, and finally, uh, the the the part that, uh, while we're we're jealous and envious and sort of
017looking forward to it, uh, for us at some point in the future, um, our retirees, um, in one of our our wonderful traditions of making sure that, uh, if they don't attend the annual dinner, uh, we go out and visit them at their work location, uh, so we can celebrate them and and, um, and present the plaque on behalf of the board. Um, and that way they know that uh that they're going out uh and they're going to be missed, but uh we're also proud of them and and really happy for them as well. Uh and it looks like, you know, every everyone was a smiling face, I think. Uh a few tears maybe before, but wiped them off and and that way they were able to smile for the picture. So, wow. And finally,
018just uh taking a look uh at next year. I guess the main part of my job, right, is that hiring piece, aside from all the fun stuff that Dr. Garcia lets me do now and then. Um you know, we're currently working on the final few positions. I think I have two certificated positions left uh that we're going to look uh to fill. our special education certificated uh staffing is completely full, which is uh uh you know a testament to our special education department um and what they do because I know that last year we had many districts that actually could not fill their positions during the entire year, let alone they're they're scrambling trying to find people and we're already set with 100% of of our staff uh ready to go for the uh coming
019school year. And then classified is always the one that that takes a little longer just because uh you have people that maybe promote from within. So we're filling back filling their position or sometimes just uh deciding to go a different route. And so we anticipate that unless we uh if we don't have any uh resignations uh in the coming weeks, we anticipate to uh hopefully have everything filled by the end of June. Uh but obviously um some other positions could become vacant. Um, and then we would obviously work on filling those through through uh July. Uh, and and hopefully by August 1st be set with every position full. And lastly, in closing, um we just uh Robert and his wonderful team put together a video uh just to highlight all of the things that I
020think the three of them talked about just so wonderfully, but just a a visual representation of all things EMCSD in the 2425 school year. Thank you, Robert. Great, great. I just want to take this opportunity to acknowledge our entire school community for just a wonderful, wonderful school year. I know that um there was just so many different things that took place and lots of people coming together uh to do wonderful things for kids and for community. And I know that this is a really challenging time for all of us. Uh but that video is a reminder that when we come together, we can do amazing things for each other. And we'll continue to do that. And the Almani City School District will continue to be a hub for our school community so that this is
021a place where kids community feel safe moving forward. Thank you, board, for your leadership. Thank you so much, Cabinet. Uh what a wonderful update. They're always good. Um, really neat to cap off our school year like that. Thank you. Well, it's time now for board reports. We'll start with you, Mrs. Kobian. Thank you. Um, and I just sort of want to echo Dr. Garcia's thoughts and just it was an amazing school year. Um, over the last couple of weeks, got to participate in so many um, different things. all the promotions, um celebrating the retirements, um the the band showcase, um just it it was I so many different opportunities. I couldn't take advantage of all of them, but what I my takeaway is just the sense of community that everyone has in supporting all the
022different aspects of whatever it is that a student needs to be successful. And so I just appreciate our district for all that we're doing. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Patha same I was only able to attend the uh one promotion at at Wright. I wanted to go somewhere different. So I've seen a lot at Colombia. So it's time to go to a different school once in a while. Um and it was interesting to have to be outdoors instead of being indoors like I'm used to at Columbia. So it was a different experience. But um also over the weekend, one of the uh softball teams that operates out of uh what used to be Norwood School uh played and qualified for played in the tournament and now qualified for the state tournament and now they get
023to go on a lovely trip in the middle of or late June, early July to lovely Lancaster and play in that heat up there. So and that's all I have. Thank you Mr. Seist. I had a wonderful experience. A whole bunch of them. I went to the promotion for kindergarten at Derpy. It was incredible. The packets they put together for these kids that they'll keep forever. I know that. And the promotions at each school was different, but they were wonderful and totally delightful. And I'd like to thank Edna for arranging for parking because I had no problem parking. It was wonderful. And a question um I want to ask Steve about edjoin.org. Do you promote do you put things in there or they contact you for jobs in the district? ed edjoin.org. So we have
024a um you have to tell them, right? I'm sorry. edjoin.org. You have to tell them we have openings and that. Yeah. So we post all our positions go specifically through Edjoin. That's kind of our house. And then we do do share those postings with external agencies linked back to Edjoin because I've been posting those also on the internet and I've a lot of people are really interested in that the fact that they don't realize the possibilities of the jobs available. Okay. Thank you for doing that by the way. I'm done. Yeah. Thank you. Um well yeah congratulations everyone on completing the school year and what a wonderful school year. Thank you everybody for everything that you do for these children. Uh we'll move on to items of interest. Um we have the LCAP and budget
025presentation. Thank you. Uh this evening we are pleased to present the Almani City School District's local control and accountability plan and budget overview for parents. Uh this is year two of our three-year plan that outlines our annual goals and specific actions to address both state and local priorities and how our funds are allocated to support our goals. It is designed to ensure that every student and student group is supported in achieving academic and social emotional success. Our LCAP is shaped by input from our students, family, staff, and community members and serves as a roadmap for how we align our resources to meet the needs of all students. Additionally, our LCAP reflects our district's continued commitment to equity and engagement. So, here with us this evening, I'm pleased to present um our coordinator of equity and
026access, Dr. Lauren McLaren, who will be presenting our 2526 LCAP. Good evening. Okay, so we're going to start by talking about um the past year and where we are at this point in time. And then we're going to end the presentation with next year and what next year's um local control accountability plan will look like. Um so this year we had our first goal was to increase student achievement and we had 18 actions. Uh 100% were completed and some of the highlights this year is that we did provide solution tree training for staff. We launched Paxton Patterson at Wright in Petero School and we provided targeted newcomer support. Um our intervention teachers also provided support to 1,176 students um in both ELA and mathematics. Of our total um budget, we spent 99 uh% of our
027funds for increasing and and improving um student achievement. Something to keep in mind is that when we talk about our budget in this area, it includes our LCFF base supplemental concentration um and then what actions we have related to title one and title three. So, we've tracked several key metrics to monitor our student progress and so far we've made gains in five out of 14 of the areas that we are measuring. Some of these slides might look pretty familiar from the midyear presentation as a lot of this data um does stay the same as it's from the 2024 dashboard. Uh while we didn't see progress across all areas, it is important to highlight that our English learners showed significant growth in both ELA and math. And this is a key success especially since we dedicated
028a significant amount of our resources and time and effort um to improving language acquisition. And so it's encouraging to see that our efforts were definitely paid off. Okay. So we have on here a few more of our California dashboard metrics. Um at the end of this year we had uh 12.2% 2% of our students were enrolled in AVID and for PAX and Patterson 4.6%. So this was our first year um with that program. The next several slides show our budgeted expenditures and what we actually spent. And you'll notice that um we did uh max out most of these areas and all are listed as complete because we did implement all um 18 of our actions. Goal number two is to ensure learner engagement. Um, and so we had 12 actions and 100% of these actions
029were completed. Our social workers and counselors delivered over 1,600 classwide presentations. This year they facilitated groups to support 445 students and and conducted over 2,000 individual check-ins. uh we had about 45,000 health office visits this year and our outreach consultants had 48 DARB and 10 SARB meetings. Um besides that we did also pilot uh with Western justice restorative practices at four schools. Um and we also worked with Hatching Results to strengthen our service framework for counseling. We spent about 99% of our budgeted funds in this area. Um, this is an area that we have a lot to be proud of. We made progress on 12 out of 15 of our metrics and it's really important because it reflects the foundational conditions that must be in place for learning to happen. And so many of the
030actions in this area support students feeling um heard, seen, and connected to their peers. Um, and so in order to learn and thrive in the classroom, it's important that these are in place. The next several slides uh have the California dashboard um indicators, our attendance rate, which we ended at 96.13%. We also have some of our metrics from the California Healthy Kids survey um where you will see an increase in students feeling more connected and more safe at school. And again, we have um all of our budgeted and estimate and actual expenditures for this year and again 100% completed. Dr. McLaren, the the actions that are lined out, can you explain those? So the actions that are lined out, those are non-contributing actions. So um we're not using our supplemental and concentration funds on those
031actions to increase and improve services. So for example, 2.11 is um using base funds um to support this action. Goal number three is increase parent and family involvement. Uh we had four actions in this area. We made progress on two out of seven metrics. Um we spent about 95% of our budgeted funds in this area. Um why there's a discrepancy um in the amount that we estimated and actually spent um has a lot to do with um our workshops. And in the past we used a lot of thirdparty vendors in order to support these workshops. And this year we empowered our community liaison to provide many of these workshops themselves from leader and me to cave. Um the next several slides have the metrics um from the California parent survey. Um many of these metrics
032stayed around the same um with about 94% of students or of parents feeling like they are active partners in school. Again we have our metrics or budgeted expenditures estimated and implementation. Um in this area we just have one item that's non-contributing and this is uh our community leaison that we use title one funding to support. Goal number four is to ensure foundational supports. We had eight actions um in this area. We mentored and developed early career educators through the beginning teacher program. Uh we provided equitable access to digital tools and teaching and learning and we also provided time for PLC's. This is an area where we saw the most significant difference between budgeted and actual expenditures. We spent about 93% of what we anticipated um spending. And the difference between the budgeted and actual is
033primarily due to different funding sources that we use to cover some of these costs. Many of these metrics are 100% and have remained that. Um so our facilities are in good repair. We provide access to aligned instructional materials and a broad course of study. Goal number five is was new this year. It was to increase student stability. And this goal only had one action. It's supported by the equity multiplier funds uh that were onetime funds that we received as a result of uh our non-stability rate um during CO 19. And so we used the these funds to support connecting students with food, housing, and health services. Um and we spent all of that this year. Okay. So, next year um we have about 28 million which is pretty similar to last year in supplemental and
034concentration grant funds. In order to engage with the community, we used um surveys this year. We used focus groups, listening sessions as well as art with our students. Uh this year we had the highest number of parents participate in our survey um as well as students in focus groups. Here are some of our key feedback themes under each goal. Uh in the area of increase achievement uh many of our uh one of the themes was to provide more engaging and hands-on learning activities. Uh many students talked about CTE like courses that they'd like to experience. providing stronger academic interventions. Um, our staff and families talked about having access to counselors full-time on their campus. We do have two counselors that are split between schools. More consistent SEAL and behavior systems. Increased opportunity for student voice.
035So, students really want to have voice and choice in what they do um and in the rules and expectations at school. Our families talked a lot about having flexible events outside of work hours that they could participate. Um they talked about wanting the clear multilingual communication. That was an area of strength. So just to continue with that, more workshops, ways to volunteer. Um under the last area they talked about having smaller class sizes, more time for professional development and staff collaboration between our um classified and certificated staff. And then access to safe clean campuses with technology and green upgrades. And so you'll notice that on the right hand side I have an arrow pointing to the actions that each of um the themes we addressed. And so it just shows that each point um each
036theme from our educational partners we ensured that it was addressed in our current LCAP. So what's new for our 202526 LCAP? Um so this year we have no carryover funds. Um so this is our supplemental and concentration funds. Uh we did ex uh spend all of that. Goal five is removed. This was paid for by the equity multiplier funds and this year there's no additional funding for us in that area. Um it was pretty minimal around $57,000. Um while we won't have the school anymore, uh a lot of our community school work will help to ensure that we continue to provide students and families with um the wraparound support and care that they need. Uh, another area that's a little bit different this coming year is we were identified for differentiated assistance based on the
0372024 California school dashboard. Um, and so what this means is that um we did have a few areas where we were in the lowest uh in red uh for a subgroup in multiple areas. And for us it was for our LTALS it was in ELA math and suspensions. And so what that means this year is that um we're expected to refine our approach and strategically invest our supports and funding to improve outcomes in these areas. And so you'll notice there's a few areas that we've refined our actions or that we've added actions just to make sure that we're explicitly addressing the needs of of ELTEL students um and not just bunching them with English language learners because their needs are very unique. And finally, the last area that's a little bit different is learning emergency
038block grants. Um, so this was state funding that provided our uh districts with support in addressing learning loss and accelerating student progress following the pandemic. And so now any additional funding that we haven't spent, we're expected to include in our LCAP so that it's aligned with our long-term goals and for transparency and accountability. And so we have used this funding to support the areas that typically we've been a little bit over on with spending. Um, and so those are in areas such as RPD for staff, our health contracts, behavior support. Um, and then we also have a new LRG LREBG action 4.09. And this is supporting classroom environments to make sure that we have furniture and um materials that can be adapted for flexible seating and differentiated instruction. And so out of our total LC
039cap this year, 85.25% is for personnel. So it is a very high amount. And that is it. Any questions? Um I just had a question. I'm wondering if you could just speak a little bit to um because I know there was the the baseline year one outcome target for year three on kind of what the the process for identifying that that target outcome because some of them right we we've gotten very close and and is there um a process to maybe move the needle up higher and some where it looks like either we kind of reversed course or are pretty far away and sort of what you know what the process is in terms of of addressing those things. Yeah. And so when we um created our targeted three-year outcomes, we looked at our um
040previous year's growth and we looked at the trajectory that we were making um for anything on the dashboard. We looked at how can we ensure that we're at least in the green or the blue in all areas. So what would it take to get to that point? Um and so that was the per the process of how we got there um very shortly and quickly. Um but um for some of these areas um something to keep in mind is that it is a three-year plan and so it will take time to make progress. Um I think the LCAP really shows who is providing the work because it is personnel who's doing the actions. Um we provide a lot of the feedback and information we get from our educational partners to our directors and department leads
041who then take those uh that feedback and ensure that we're addressing it. um whether or not it's with PD with Dr. Torres or um whichever area it is. Thank you. I have a question. Yes. Uh reaching the entire family, do we provide schedules of classes from the Elmani Union High School District um from the adult education program because they're available. I just wonder do we do that? I used to deliver them around the district, but I would suggest that it's a good outreach for the parents to continue their education because there's so many wonderful programs people need to know about. We do actually, Mr. Seagris, um all of our schools have a a parent room, so to speak, where we make those connections, we advertise, we offer many classes at school sites that are sponsored
042by the adult education program. they just come out to our schools and our parents attend there. So, so there is a a strong partnership that we continue to build on. And one of the things I've asked Miss Lazo to do, our district community leazison, is actually have a field trip over to the adult school as well for our parents to be able to see um what what it's all about over there and what types of programs they're offering as well. Yeah. So, as someone who's been looking at all of our metrics, all of our numbers, I'm curious to hear from you where you see our successes, like where you see things are really exciting and then where you see some big opportunities. Um, so I think the area that I've seen the most growth and
043success is definitely SEAL and I know for a few years after COVID, we didn't see a lot of success there necessarily or growth. Um, but that really is setting the foundation and conditions for success. So, I'm hopeful that now that we have that under control and we're seeing very positive numbers in that area, um we'll see now the impact on what that could have in terms of academics. Um I think um looking forward, I'm really excited to see how we can continue to ensure that we have all the different voices and departments heard uh and all of the initiatives. So with our strategic plan for next year, making sure that we have alignment there um and we're really targeted with our support uh with English language learners. That was an area that Dr. Torres was
044extremely targeted with and it did pay off. We saw those numbers increase and so I think that is the key. Thank you. Any other questions? Okay, thank you so much. up next in coordination with our LCAP. Obviously, the LCAP is the narrative behind what we do and the budget translates those words into numbers, right? So, um Dr. McLaren gave us the update on the LCAP, uh the annual update and the upcoming LCAP for next year and Miss Jen Pia, our director of fiscal services, will provide us an overview of the adopted budget for the upcoming fiscal year 202526. The adopted budget process is a little unique in that uh we're bringing to you the adopted budget for the upcoming fiscal year and also at the same time an update on the estimated actuals for the
045current year. Um something that we typically do at the interimm process, but you're really just looking at one year and then the future. Since we're so close to the start of the fiscal year at the adopted budget, uh we're required to bring to you not only the adopted budget, which starts, you know, a few days from now when we hit the new fiscal year, but an update on where we think we're going to close the 2425 fiscal year. So, with that, I'll turn over to Miss Ptos to provide the update. Good afternoon, President Thus. Good afternoon, board members, Dr. Garcia, cabinet members, and members of the public. As um Mr. Herrera has mentioned I'll be presenting tonight the 2425 estimated actuals and 2526 adopted budget. As a reminder, school year runs from July 1st and
046ends on June 30th. Where we are now in the budget cycle. Each year the school district budget goes through several key checkpoints. The budget cycle begins when the governor releases the proposed state budget in January. In May, we receive the governor's May revision, which updates revenue projections and program funding for the upcoming school year. By June, the district finalizes its own budget and submits it for board approval. Around the same time, the governor typically signs the state budget bill by June 30th, which officially sets education funding levels for the year. Throughout the year, we continue to monitor our budget to ensure we stay on track. We do this by submitting interim reports which provide a mid-year snapshot of our financial position and are brought to the board for review. We begin with the 2425 estimated
047actuals. The general fund accounts for the majority of our revenue and also covers most of our operating expenditures including salaries and benefits. We are projecting a 16.7 million deficit for the year which is an improvement compared to second interim. This is largely because interest income came in better than anticipated along with one-time fair market value adjustments. This slide shows the 2425 general fund estimated actuals. Last year we closed with a 27 million surplus largely due to one-time ESR funding related to COVID relief. However, those federal funds have now expired and for 2425 we are projecting a 15.9 million deficit which means that our expenditures are exceeding our revenues. Fortunately, we started this year with strong reserves which allows us to absorb the shortfall for now. That said, this represents a structural imbalance we'll need to
048address. Continued deficit spending is not sustainable and we'll need to carefully evaluate ongoing expenditures, staffing, and future funding assumptions to maintain long-term fiscal stability. And now we have the 2526 um financial projections. At first glance, it may appear to show a balanced budget with a small surplus, but that's not actually the case. The projected 16.9 million surplus is primarily the result of a planned 35 million bond issuance, which is restricted funding designated for capital projects, not for day-to-day operations. When we as isolate the general fund which covers our core operating expenses like salaries, benefits and programs, we actually are projecting a deficit. So while the overall budget looks balanced due to the one-time bond proceeds, the structural deficit in our operating budget remains a concern and requires ongoing attention. This slide shows the breakdown of
049our total revenues for 2526. The largest portion comes from LCFF revenues 27.4 million in federal funds. And then we have uh primarily from uh Head Start and Child Nutrition. And then we have state revenues of 44.3 million uh with significant contributions from ELOP CalFire grant sters on behalf community schools and so on. And then we have the local revenues. Um we are projecting at 48.8 million including the 35 million from bond proceeds. uh 6.3 million from special ed and four million from interest income. This slide shows how our revenues are being allocated to support the district's goals and operations. As you can see, salaries and benefits make up the majority of our total expenditures. And then we have the contracted services at 15%, capital outlays at 11% and then books and supplies at 9%. This
050slide uh provides a snapshot of the adopted budget for 2526 school year specifically for the general fund. We are once again projecting a significant deficit approximately 20.5 million. This means our ongoing expenditures continue to exceed our ongoing revenue which signals a structural imbalance in the general fund. While we began the year with a healthy reserve, we are drawing down on the reserve to cover the shortfall. At this pace, the reserve will continue to shrink which limits our ability to respond to emergencies or unexpected changes in state funding. This level of deficit spending is not sustainable over the long term and we will need to closely monitor our fiscal position and make strategic decisions around spending, staffing and long-term commitments. This slide shows the local control funding formula or the LCFF. Under LCFF, we have the
051base grant which is unrestricted and generated by all students. And we have the supplemental concentration grants that are generated by English language learners, lowincome and foster youth students, also known as unduplicated pupils. The three main um sources of LCFF are the state aid, education protection account, which is the EPA, and local property taxes. We could also it could also be broken down by the base grant, supplemental grant, concentration grant, uh class size add-on, TK add-on, transportation funds, and the TIA funds. You know, one thing I want to add for the board, just for the community's awareness, if you recall back to Prop 30 passed in 2012 and Prop 55 reauthorized in 2016, right, temporary taxes that were added, um, and I believe it was Governor Brown back in 2012 that was advocating for it, right?
052If it didn't pass, there was going to be some deep cuts, right, in the 2012 year coming out of the recession. Uh, there were temporary taxes in 2016. They reauthorized it under Prop 55. That line item there titled education protection account makes up $13 million for the Monta City School District. Right across the state of California, it's probably about $10 billion of funding. Um that is set to expire in 2030, right? And so u be on the lookout. I know CTA um had is is starting some messaging um to um start getting some input for putting something uh on the ballot in 2026, right? And as we start working with u and advocating for more funding, that is a big piece that I think school districts in California have just become accustomed to over the
053years. Right? So what would happen if Prop 55 expires and the taxes expire at 2030 and they're not reauthorized? Well, that money that comes in specifically for a multi city school district would not be there. It wouldn't change the amount of LCF funding we would get. However, the state would have to chip in the difference. Where would the state get the money from? Who knows, right? And so, um, there's a breakdown of how we get our LCFF funding, right? How the money comes to the Malta City School District. The bulk of it is via state aid, right? It's income taxes, sales tax, corporate taxes, right? Education protection account funding is just another way of state aid. It's it's a tax on the super wealthy in California. And then local property taxes are local property taxes
054that get collected that get redistributed back to the schools. So, that's something to keep our eye on. Um it's not including our multi-year projection because we're only going out three years. Um but it's something that we're going to start hearing more and more from CSBA or other partners, right? Um and um from what I'm hearing in 2026, potentially going to be something on the ballot looking to reauthorize that prior to the expiration of 2030. So that's something that really helped school districts over the years. Um and um when we pass it in 2016, it's like well 2030 it's well in the future, but it's going to be here before we know it, right? Our strategic plan will wrap up before then or just around that time, right? So, that's something we're closely monitoring. And as
055we go into a year from now, our multi-year projections may look a little different, right? Uh because we're going to have to account for the potential expiration and the loss of that uh big amount of funding. So, we're hopeful that that funding gets reauthorized and the voters support the extension of that tax because if not, then I think public schools are going to be in for uh some tough times. If for example, you can see the impact here for Mont City School District. That's that's a sizable amount of funding. And now we are on the multi-year financial projections which look ahead through 2017 school year. As you can see, we are currently able to meet our financial obligations for the current year and the next three years. For a district our size, the state requires
056a minimum unrestricted reserve level of 3% and we are meeting the requirement throughout the projection period. It's important to understand that re reserves serve critical purposes. They help with cash flow during months when state or federal revenues are delayed and they provide financial stability during times of declining enrollment or economic uncertainty. Maintaining a solid solid um reserve helps ensure that district can continue to operate without disruptions. That said, while our reserves stay above the 3% minimum, it's important to note that we are still projecting ongoing deficits year after year. This pattern of structural deficit spending cannot continue and we will need to continue monitoring and adjusting to ensure long-term fiscal sustainability. This this slide highlights the key financial risk we're monitoring going into 2526 and beyond. Again, um like many districts across the state, we
057are continuing to see a steady decline in um student enrollment. And then since funding is largely based on enrollment and ADA, a drop in enrollment means less LCFF revenue for the district. And then we have the um loss of ADA protection and then the expire expiring of um one-time funds. We're closely tracking each of these risk areas and we'll continue to update the board during our interim reporting periods. Our goal is to remain proactive so we can maintain fiscal stability while continuing to support our students and staff. And as mentioned, um there's a uh student here's the student enrollment trend and it's projected to continue to decline which is influenced mainly by low birth rates, housing developments and economic conditions. We have the other planning factors. This slide outlines the key assumptions that drive our
058multi-year budget projections. We have the funded cola. Uh these are all state projected projected cola each year. We have the unduplicated pupil percentage stirs contribution pers and then we have the step and column percentage. Um, we also have the staffing adjustments for declining enrollment. As enrollment continues to decline, we are reducing staffing levels accordingly. For 2526, we've planned um for a reduction of 19 certificated FTEES. In 2627 and 2728, the reductions are estimated at nine FTEEs each year. This help helps align our staffing with actual student needs and available resources and is part of our strategy to maintain a balanced budget over the long term. In addition to other planning factors, we also consider consider salary adjustments. For 2526, there are no planned salary schedule increases. For 2425, we included a 2% onetime off schedule
059payment for EMTA and management and then point half percent increase to the classified salary schedule. These updates are reflected in the current projections. Next steps will be the board adopts the 2526 LCAP and the budget and then Governor Nam signs the 2526 state budget bill by June 30th and then um the staff closes the financial books for 2425. Then we have the 45day budget revision approved at the August board meeting. And then at the September board meeting, we have the unodudited actuals financial report. Thank you. Are there any questions from any board member? No questions. Well, thank you very much. Thank you for those um very uh clear presentations. Appreciate um all of the information. And um item two, we have reading success screener presentation. Yes, thank you. So this evening we will be presenting
060information related to California Education Code section 530008 which requires our local education agencies to screen students in grades K through two for reading difficulties including dyslexia at least once per year. To meet this requirement, school district school districts must adopt a reading difficulty screener from the list of approved tools developed by the California State Board of Education. Tonight's presentation will outline the adoption process, including stakeholder engagement, key considerations, and the criteria used to evaluate available screeners. We will also share the recommended screener for adoption, which we believe best meets the needs of our students and aligns our district's instructional goals. And so, here to present that information regarding our adoption process and recommendation to the board is our director of instruction and assessment, Dr. Rudy Torres and one of our wonderful teachers on special assignment
061who was very active in this process, Miss Crystal Trussell. Thank you for the introductions and President Rivas, board cabinet, we have the good fortune to share with you tonight some key details with the adoption of our literacy screener. Um, as as Dr. Pornado just pointed out uh she she contextualized the uh the law that just went into effect um early last year when school began. So it allows us to go through this process to adopt a screener to implement in fall 2526. So I'm going to go ahead and turn it over to Miss Trussel who's going to speak to some components of this and then I'll return to talk about some different pieces. That's not it. Arrow. Arrow. The arrow. There we go. Uh, good evening. In July of 2023, um, California governor signed into
062law the Senate Bill uh, 114 in which includes the education code 530008. So, the Senate bill is quite lengthy. It contains a lot of information, but the ed code is really where the nuts and bolts of what we're going to talk to you about um tonight. And um throughout the state of California, uh students in grades K1 and two will now be screened annually on literacy and reading. And so we're here tonight because um local agencies were were given the opportunity to choose a screener and it needs to be um uh adopted. So we're here to do that this evening. Robert, what did I Oh, it will. Perfect. It's because I'm touching it. That's um So, why do we screen students? Well, we want to be able to get as much information as we possibly
063can in order to ensure that all students reach um proficiency in literacy. And so, screening them um on that will will help us in that um endeavor. We also know that if you can identify students early that might be um either at risk or have some struggles in literacy and you um pair that with um evidence-based instruction, you're going to be able to meet students needs in the most impactful way. And so what the ed code does is that it provides us the opportunity um to close that achievement gap by looking at that data, having the opportunity for students to be screened, teachers to be able to look at that data to make instructional decisions and also to inform parents on where their students are and give them tools to be able to help as
064well at home. Thank you, Mr. Rosel. So, I'd like to share with you briefly the timeline for the adoption process for the Ammani City School District. So, this information we we began to No. So, we began this process actually back in August when we reviewed uh information from the California Department of Education in terms of the direction that we'd be going with the literacy screener. Um, ideally the process from uh the California Department of Education began in December when they released the information of the four tools that were available to us. And so what the state did is they went ahead and they screened four tools that they felt would best suit students in the state of California which allowed us as an agency, as an organization to review these tools uh for our purposes.
065As you can see here at the top there are the four tools. So we have roar uh which was actually only for grades one and two and in English only and so we we chose not to select or uh pre-select this particular tool. um on one hand uh the other hand was multitudes in grades K2, English and Spanish, but it's once a year and one of the things that we would like to do as a school district is to actively progress monitor our students um especially in the area of K2 and so we felt that this particular tool did not meet our needs. The two tools that we felt that met our needs was a mirror grades K2 which is available in English and Spanish and then MCL class right which is amplify education which
066is K2 English and Spanish. Um interestingly I would like to sh say that some of the feedback that we got from our uh piloting process was that it was too too much like I'm ready in the sense that it was static. That is to say that our teachers were really interested in teacher student interaction that actual engagement of working with the student as opposed to a static tool that's measuring learning. And so uh MClass provided an opportunity for our teachers to be directly engaged with students to actively hear, listen, uh and engage and determine uh how our students are doing, be able to put that data in. So the goal the goal is once we went through this pilot process and I do I do want to share with you um one piece about the
067process that I thought was really really important uh was the inclusion of our special education colleagues. Not to say that the instrument itself is a function of special education because the instrument itself is a function of general education. But it was really working with our colleagues to determine the right way to pilot something. And we took a very very clinical approach to this. Meaning that meaning that when we looked at a team, we wanted our team to evaluate both tools equally with the same group of students. Um, our team did a great job identifying students so that when we screened this tool that we had an idea of the information that would be provided based on student demographic profiles, academic profiles and based on that we were able to judge um the effectiveness of the
068tool. So it was a really really comprehensive process I wanted to just speak to. And so the next step is the actual adoption of the process which is why we're here tonight. Our team chose amplify air mclass dibbles uh dibbles uh edition 8 and for the implementation of fall 25. So as um Dr. Torres alluded we uh he formed a team that included not only himself but um the special ed uh representatives um some TOSAs some administrators um as well as some interventionists. So we all come to this, you know, with a little bit of a different lens, all with students first and students focused. We had an opportunity um uh through LEO. There were other venues as well, but LEO also hosted several opportunities to go on. It was about an hour for each
069one where they had the different um uh screeners that were approved for adoption where they spoke to them. And so we we reviewed those. We came together as a team. We had a rich discussion about you know what do our students need? How do we want to be able to use this screener? And so together we you know we made a plan as as uh Dr. Torres spoke to it was very clinical like we were really lock step. We had agendas we had community agreements. We really wanted to make sure that we did this right because this is something that's going to have direct impact on instruction with our students. Um from there after we chose the two that we would like to pilot which was Mclass and Amamira we set about to um invite
070them to come and provide professional development not only to the team members that were part of that original team that would be screeners myself included but we also included some more interventionists and we included also general education teachers one which is actually one of our dual language teachers over at Dery and so it was a really rich group. We got trained on both screeners in one day. We selected a random group of students but so that we could actually screen them on both of the um uh screeners so we could look at the data and kind of see how how they did what was the experience you know as a student as a as a teacher and the um classroom teachers got to screen their own students which was exciting and then it became okay
071what did you think? So I hosted um a virtual meet where I asked very specific questions for the positives, the challenges, you know, took copious notes. Um and each of the piloters was also asked to complete a Google form both um for one for each of the screeners. And with that, we brought all of that information back to the team where we we talked about it. Those of us that were part of the screening process shared our positives and I also shared everything that um the teachers had and the feedback that we got and we put it to a vote and it was it was unanimous that MClass was not only um what uh from our experiences but to truly what we want to use this screener for not only by the law but also
072by what we want to be able to utilize it. And so um with that once we had that decision um uh Dr. Torres was um asked to have us come out to both the DAC and the key communicators. And so I presented um uh to both groups where we share with parents our process what we were um asking to be selected and a little bit of information about the parent reports that they might be expecting to see. um because that is part of the ed code that the parents would receive um uh results and also be able to learn how to interpret the results as well. So as noted the the decision was unanimous to adopt or to make the re recommendation for adoption for the MClass Dibbles edition 8. Uh the benefits of this
073was that this is an English Spanish. So the Spanish component is is called lectura. Um this is something that uh was very um interested or our dual our dual immersion teachers were very interested in this particular component. Um this is going to be for grades K through two. There's a progress monitoring component that we do plan on implementing uh in order to inform instruction throughout the year. Um the I want to say one of the most important pieces that came through was a teacher student the idea of active student engagement. Uh very similar to when we do uh ELPAC testing that we want to engage with the student. So one of the most positive comments was that this particular tool afforded active and uh active engagement for our students. Um as Miss Trussell was pointing
074out um the other component to this is uh parent reporting when we uh work on implementation the parent partnership is a huge piece to the ed code. It's a huge piece to moving forward. U the reports, the results, the comprehension, the way things are communicated with the reporting was really made sense for us in terms of how we want to work with our parents and bring them along in our literacy journey. Um there are home activities, different supports. In many respects, the decision to adopt uh this particular tool is going to have a positive impact on tier one instruction in grades K through two. So what are the next steps? Um our next steps are you know the implementation for professional development. Um assuming that um you know we do adopt this particular tool. Uh
075what we'll be looking at is scheduling training for all of our K2 teachers um instruction and learning uh tier one implementation. How does this tool improve instruction? Looking at outcomes. And I I want to uh not to belabor this point, but I do believe that progress monitoring is a key key component of this particular tool. Um working with Miss Trussell and our and our team. It's really about bringing our parents aboard on this on this journey, parent notification, joint communication at the office instruction, uh working with our colleagues, our community leaison, and then continuing to build a culture around literacy. um the idea that this isn't just a screening tool, but it's really a catalyst for instruction and engaging the community in broader literacy uh discussions. Thank you very much. If you have any questions
076for us, we'd love to answer them for you. Thank you. Any questions? Um I just had one I was just curious in terms of looking at this screener is um is it designed as a tool to monitor students individually versus monitoring like the system right like the you know is there is it really just designed to look at individual student progress or is there sort of a you know where the where the data is brought together and you look at across a school or across a grade level the progress of all students in this um method. Yes. So teachers will be able to get individualized student reports. So you get what is called a composite score. So um students are screened on the basic foundational skills such as letter recognition, phmic awareness, phonics. There's other
077um assessments as well. But for each of those elements um there the student receives a score and it's also colorcoded. We love our colors. It very clearly shows where the student falls. And then taking all that information together, it comes up with a composite score. So based on the composite score, it will give teachers ideas on who to group with whom in order to meet those needs. Um and so the teacher will also be able to look at the class, right? So you'll have be able to have a class report saying, you know, uh these four students really need work on um uh understanding initial sounds and so they'll be able to meet with them um to be able to do to do exactly that. Does that help kind of and I think the secondary
078part to it is is is there will there be a component of looking at at maybe the community as a whole. So we say okay students in our community are really struggling in this and and engaging the community and kind of a larger support system there for that's a great question. Thank you for asking that question. Um, you know, speaking to the the the strength of this particular tool, you know, it it really speaks to everything that Miss Trussell just said, the idea of individualized instruction and understanding the the nuances of of language acquisition, literacy acquisition for our youngest students. That said, the ED code does um prescribe that these particular tools should not be used for um like grading purposes and those type of things, right? because the idea is is it's really meant
079to inform instruction in a at a very very granular level. However, I had the good fortune to also look at these reports and it does afford itself an opportunity to start looking at aggregated data to see larger trends of where kids need support. So, um this is the benefit of bringing in a multi-disiplinary team. So working with our TOSAs, working with individuals um that that are colleagues of Miss Trussels when when we're supporting teachers, we're doing so in a manner that supports students. However, uh instructional leaders when when they are uh working with their school communities, these tools can illustrate larger trends to your point that will help us make decisions at different levels. Thank you. Thank you. Any other questions? Okay, thank you for your presentation. Thank you very much. Thank you. Moving on
080to communications. We have no cards for public comment. And Dr. Garcia, do we have any written communications? No written communication has come forward. And it's time for us to move into close session. We will discuss item one conference with legal counsel existing litigation pursuant to government code section 54956.9A OAH number two 2024070765 item two pursuant to government code 54957.6 Six, conference, conference with labor negotiators, CSEA 10 and CSEA 356 and close session item three pursuant to government code 54957, public employee performance evaluation superintendent. We'll resume the open meeting shortly. Okay, we are resuming the open meeting at 703. We were previously in close session. Um for close session item one conference with legal council existing litigation pursuant to government code section 54956.9A OAH number 2024070765. During the just concluded close session, the board voted to
081approve the settlement agreement for OAH case number 030419. That one shouldn't be there. Should it be the other number? Could be the other number. Okay. Um, so let me voted to approve the settlement agreement for OH case number 2024070765. And for close session items two and three, no action was taken. I need to motion session. Okay. U for close session item one. Motion made by Mrs. Kobon, seconded by Mr. Peralta, and the vote was 40. I apologize, President Rivas. It's the second one. Uh 202530419. That's that's the correct one. Okay. Thank you. I'll just read that again. So um for item one during the just concluded close session the board voted to approve the settlement agreement for OAH case number 2025030419. Okay. Thank you. Uh it's time now for the approval of minutes. Um consideration
082for the approval of the May 12th 2025 board meeting minutes. Do I hear a motion? I'll move to approve. Motion made by Mrs. Kobian. Is there a second? I'll second. Seconded by Mr. Peralta. Any discussion? All in favor? I I opposed. Motion carries. 4 Z. Uh for reports, we have a report on the 2024 2025 certificated employee admin ratio. Good evening. Um, every year, uh, we bring this report to share. Uh, this is an actual report that was required years ago. Um, that was required to be submitted to the, uh, California Department of Education. Um, and it is no longer required, but we, uh, believe it's just a a good report that reflects and ensures that we're maintaining those standards. Um and the standards are in regards to the number of administrators per um certificated
083teacher ratio. Um and so this year based on our number of teachers um and the ratio of 09 uh we could have a maximum administration of 35.91 and we currently uh are at 26. So we're well within the uh ritual requirements. Thank you. We're moving on to our public hearings. Um item one, public hearing for the 2025 2026 LCAP annual update and budget overview for parents. Uh the local control and accountability plan or LCAP outlines our district's goals, actions, and services to meet state priorities and improve outcomes for all students. The budget overview for parents is a companion document that provides a user-friendly summary of how funds are used to support these goals. The 202526 LCAP annual update reflects our progress toward achieving our goals and how we are allocating resources in response to stakeholder
084input, student data, and state guidance. This plan helps ensure transparency and alignment with our district's mission and priorities. At this time, I open the public hearing for the 2025 2026 LCAP annual update and the budget overview for parents. Are there any public comments regarding this item? Okay, hearing none, I thank you. I now close the public hearing for the 202526 LCAP annual update and budget overview for parents. Let the minutes reflect that the board held a public hearing on June 16th, 2025 prior to the adoption of the 202526 local control accountability plan. Uh public hearing number two, public hearing for the Almani City School District 202526 adopted budget. Next, we'll open the public hearing for the adopted budget. The budget reflects the district's financial plan for the upcoming school year, including projected revenues, expenditures, and
085fund balances. It ensures that we are fiscally responsible while aligning resources to support student learning, district goals, and LCAP priorities. This public hearing allows community members to provide feedback on the proposed budget prior to its adoption. At this time, I open the public hearing for the 2025 2026 adopted budget. Are there any public comments regarding the budget? I just have a uh a comment about how the link's not working. I don't know if since since I have the opportunity to say something, the link to the uh adopted budget just links back to the presentation on the the board doc site. That's all. Thank you. Uh, any other comments? Okay. I now close the public hearing for the 2025 2026 adopted budget. Let the minutes reflect that the board held a public hearing on June 16th,
0862025 prior to the adoption of the 2025 2026 budget. Okay, we will move on to our consent items. Um, is there any item that a board member would like to pull for a separate consideration? Hearing none. Do I hear a motion to approve the consent items? Motion to approve. Motion made by Mr. Poda. Is there a second? I'll second. Seconded by Mrs. Kobian. Any discussion? All those in favor? I opposed. Motion carries. 5-0. Um, now moving on to action items. Item one, uh, consideration of approval of the annual welcome back employee breakfast. President Rivas and governing board members. Um, it truly is my pleasure as we're wrapping up this school year to also introduce uh the first action item for this evening, which is an approval of our annual welcome back breakfast thinking ahead for
087the 2526 school year. I want to highlight that this is a wonderful um tradition that we've established here in this district. Uh it goes back 41 years where we bring all of our employees together for a welcome back to kick off the start of the school year. We provide a breakfast. It allows people to reconnect to um just share wonderful stories of summer adventures, reconnect as a staff and then we come together and we set the purpose and the tone for the year ahead. And so this year, our welcome back breakfast will be on August 13th, and it is um my recommendation that we continue to support activities that promote um the togetherness and wellness of our school community. Thank you. Do I hear a motion to approve? I'll make the motion. Motion made by
088Mrs. Kobian. Is there a second? I'll second. Seconded by Mr. Peralta. Any discussion? All those in favor? I opposed. Motion carries. 40. Thank you. So, an opportunity to add that to your calendar for the first event for the 2526 school year, August 13th. Thank you. And I just realized I might may have been saying 50 on any some of the others, but should be make that correction. Was I saying four? Okay. Okay. Item two, consideration of approval of purchase orders. President Rivas for you is the purch report for purchases um process in the month of May. We have 516 purchase order transactions there totaling $2.1 million on this report. Uh some items to highlight about $1.1 million of uh material, roofing material purchased from Garland off of a piggyback that the board approved previously at
089a prior board meeting um for the roofing updates happening this summer at New Lexington uh Colombia, Rio Hondo, and Rio Vista schools in addition to Central Kitchen. Thank you. Do I hear a motion to approve item two? I'll make the motion. Motion made by Mr. Peralta. Is there a second? I'll second. Seconded by Mrs. Kobian. Any discussion? All those in favor? I opposed. I abstain. Motion carries. 301. Item three, consideration of approval of election results measure me. Uh board president, members of the governing board, before you is an action item that's required after every school bond election as required under education code. The board must enter into its minutes and approve and certify the election results from the past bond measure that we passed in November of 2024. Bond measure me. Uh once approved, we
090will send the um uh the information over to the county superintendent so they have that for their records. A majority 55% of the yes votes were necessary to pass bond measure me authorizing $ 105 million for the multi- city school district facility improvements and we are proud to report that uh we received 64 64% of yes votes in favor of that. So before you is the official canvas of results from the county registars's office uh showing the passage of bond measure me from November of 2024. Thank you. Uh, do I hear a motion to approve item three? I'll make the motion. Motion made by Mr. Peralta. Is there a second? I'll second. Seconded by Mrs. Kobian. Any discussion? All those in favor? I I opposed. Motion carries. 40. Item four, consideration of approval of resolution
091242542 requesting the board of supervisors of the county of Los Angeles to establish a tax rate for bonds. Great. So, with the successful passage of bond measure me this past November, uh the district may now begin to access funding. Uh it was $105 million of bond funds that the voters authorized under measure me. This board action would allow um the ammon city school district the opportunity uh to issue its first bond sale in the upcoming fiscal year. Um if we don't notify the county of LA uh prior to July 1st, then we do not have the ability to access our first round of measure me funds for the upcoming fiscal year since you need to provide them notice so they can update property taxes and uh do what they need to do on their end.
092So, um, the issuance is estimated to close sometime in the spring of 2026, so about 10 months from now. Um, it was $105 million of a bond that was passed, right? Um, and it would most likely be accessing three issuances, $35 million per issuance every few years or so. Um, the first step in the process, obviously, uh, approving this resolution. The next step in the process, sometime in the next 60 to 90 days, we will bring forward to the board an updated list of our citizens oversight committee members so we can establish that for bond metro me and the rest of our outstanding bonds. Uh, another critical component that we will need to bring to the board for approval is the bond capacity waiver application um that we would then submit up to the state
093board of education so they can approve us to access the bond funds, right? Um and then shortly thereafter, um sometime in the early part of the 2026 calendar year, uh a bond sale would go to market and the deal would close sometime in the springtime. Uh an important part of that which we're excited to bring forward to the board, uh as we approach the fall time, uh is the discussion regarding prioritization of projects, right? And so we can have discussion about which projects we would like to see implemented as we move into summer of 2026 and beyond. Um, and as a side note, a good time for us to begin this process with accessing measure ME funds at the same time that we're updating our strategic plan. Um, so this allows us with the passage
094of the resolution to access funds in the spring of 2026 to set us up for projects that can be executed in the summer of 2026 funded out of measure ME. Thank you. Do I hear a motion to approve item four? I'll make the motion. Motion made by Mrs. Kobon. Is there a second? I'll second. Seconded by Mr. Peralta. Any discussion? No. All in favor? I I opposed. Motion carries. 40. Item five, consideration of approval of collective bargaining settlement between California School Employees Association and its chapter 10 and EMCSD effective July 1st, 2024 through June 30th, 2025 accompanied with AB1200 documentation. Uh, thank you. Good evening. Um before you for consideration of approval is the tenative agreements for the 2425 school year with uh CSEA and its chapter 10 which represents our classified uh employees within
095the district. Um along with that is the AB1200 documentation which must be submitted to Los Angeles County Office of Ed for approval um ensuring that we can fulfill any u fiscal obligations. Thank you. Thank you. Do I hear a motion to approve item five? Motion to approve. Motion made by Mr. Peralta. Is there a second? I'll second that. Seconded by Mr. Seagris. Any discussion? All those in favor? I opposed. Motion carries. 40. And item six, consideration of approval of collective bargaining settlement between California School Employees Association and its chapter 356 and EMCSD effective July 1st, 2024 through June 30th, 2025 accompanied with AB1200 documentation. Thank you. Uh next up for consideration of approval is the uh tenative agreements to for the 2425 school year with uh CSEA chapter 356 uh which represents our child development
096head start uh uh teachers and uh along with that is the AB1200 documentation uh that is submitted to Los Angeles County of Office of Ed. Um and unique with them is an memorandum of understanding which we have been doing uh every year with them because as we readjust our uh what we call our slots for how we receive um and um enroll our Head Start students that requires adjustments of our current staff as well. And so thatou reflects the process for making those adjustments with our staffing. Thank you. Do I hear a motion to approve item six? I'll make the motion. Motion made by Mrs. Kobian. Is there a second? I'll second. Seconded by Mr. Peralta. Any discussion? All in favor? I opposed. Motion carries. 4 Z. Well, we've um arrived at our discussion session
097now and we get to talk about the strategic plan. It looks like there's a beautiful draft here for us. So, um I'll let you start us off, Dr. Garcia. Thank you, Mrs. Rivas. I I just want to acknowledge that I believe the issue with the link was corrected. All set. Okay. Thank you. So, I'm happy to bring a draft of the strategic plan uh to the board this evening um as part of our discussion. Um and so I will um share with you um the draft this evening and then um the idea is that we bring it back as an item to vote on at the next meeting which is a week from today. Um just to take us back uh walk back uh a little over a year ago um we started talking about
098um formalizing the need for a strategic plan. um we hired a consultant to come in and work with the district on developing a process uh for how we would collect input from all of our educational partners. And so as we kicked off the school year, we also uh brought together a guiding coalition. Um once again, there was about 90 members in this room uh that consisted of representation from every school site um as well as two of our board members. Thank you for for being a part of those meetings and and so lots of discussions around the hopes, the dreams of this community for our students. And from there, we um took that information and put together draft vision and mission statements that we brought back to the board. Um we also then created a
099subcommittee at the end of those meetings to look at um the possibility of of outlining you know how do you put what how do you put the vision and mission into action through learner dispositions. And so we developed learner dispositions and and also gave some u definitions for what they could look like in a classroom, what they could look like within our school community. And then when that part of the process was complete, uh we brought that information to the board. We finalized a vision vision and a mission statement. We finalized the learner dispositions. And then the next part of the strategic plan was identifying the goals. And so we had a study session to really think through what are some of the priorities, the areas that we wanted to focus on for this strategic
100plan. And so the board gave direction uh for the priorities that we should look to to define what our goal should be for the for the district. And so this evening I present to you the draft of the strategic plan. And so um something that we've already approved and considered is the vision statement, nurturing young minds to achieve beyond limits. The mission statement, we empower generations through learning, leadership, and community. Very powerful. the learner dispositions. Um, change agent acts to make a positive impact on our community and world. There's a typo there. Actually, I I want to say that there was two typos on this. Um, so so my apologies. And I I also want to share that this is not the format that we're going to use. This is the format that um we
101put together so that it would be easier to read. So my apology for the typo there. We'll make sure that that's corrected for the next uh draft or the next version. Knowledge seeker explores new ideas, thinks deeply, and is driven to discover and understand. Forward thinker, dreams big, plans ahead, and creates for the future. Empowered communicator engages, collaborates, and uses their voice confidently. And thriving leader adapts and grows with purpose and joy. the four priority areas that um the board had dis discussed. Number one, ensure academic excellence for all. Priority area number two, deliver diverse experiences and opportunities that prepare students for future success. Please note that that was corrected on the presentation. Priority area number three, prepare students to thrive in an interconnected world. And priority area number four, align leadership, staffing, and resources
102to student centered priorities. So now when we take a look at each priority area, we have um a couple of things. One is the description for priority area number one, ensure academic excellence for all. We will support all students in achieving or exceeding grade level standards across all subject areas through high quality instruction, equitable practices, and a commitment to continuous growth. There are four long range goals um that we are presenting this evening. Goal number one, ensure that every student meets or exceeds grade level standards in English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies by 2030. Goal number two, ensure that all transitional kindergarten through grade two students meet or exceed grade level standards in foundational skills. Goal number three, increase academic language proficiency and reclassification rates of long-term English learners in grades four through
103eight. And goal number four, advance the effectiveness of datadriven instruction through high functioning equity focused professional learning communities centered on student outcomes. The focus goal for the 2526 school year, which would be the starting point to making sure that we achieve these goals within the five-year range, is to strengthen tier 1 instruction through expanding the use of evidence, evidence-based strategies, effective PLC's, and the consistent use of common formative assessments. The metrics are detailed be below each of those goals. And so the metric for uh goal long range goal 1.1 would be for year for to increase 10% the number of students meeting or exceeding standards on the CASP in grades three through eight and increasing by 10% the number of students meeting or exceeding standards on the CASP in grades three through eight in the
104following subgroups English learners long-term English learners students with disabilities and socioeconomically disadvantaged which are the major subgroups that um are highlighted in our district reports. The metric for goal number two, implement district-wide assessments in TK through grade two and use the results to monitor and report on foundational skills development in literacy and numeracy and disagregated by student group. For goal number three, the metric is to decrease the number of ELELS in grades four through eight by 20% annually based on growth in LPAC scores, core academic performance, and district criteria. And the metric for goal 1.4 is to implement and analyze CFAs in all grade levels to monitor student progress towards mastery of essential standards. The strategies run across um the different goals and the metrics and so they're listed there. The strategies for priority area
105number one is to identify and implement essential standards and common format formative and summitive assessments across all grade levels. Provide targeted professional development and evidence-based instructional strategies and effective use of assessment to inform instruction. Develop and implement academic acceleration plans tailored to the needs of subgroups. strengthen district-wide PLC structures and protocols and host ongoing multilingual family engagement sessions to communicate academic expectations, standards, and strategies for supporting learners at home or learning at home, excuse me. I will pause there to give you an opportunity to reflect or just to take it in. It's a lot of information on one page. One of the things I'm wondering just while everybody's kind of looking at it is um I know in 1.3 in the box um we say by 20% annually. Should we be saying by 10% annually
106in the 1.1 or we So for for 1.3 it's specifically elts. These are students that are long-term English language learners. So they've exceeded there is research to show that language acquisition happens developmentally um four to five years. And so these are students that have exceeded that time limit. And so we do need to create an acceleration plan so that they can reclassify especially before moving on to high school. Yeah. I I'm just wondering sorry I wasn't clear. um in where we say in 1.1 we're saying increase the number of students. Should we indicate that that's an annual goal or or in the first year? Maybe to give ourselves a concrete timeline. Yeah. Thank you. Um I I have a question that's not not really so much about what's written here. Um but it's just a
107thought as um having been a parent in the district is um if there will be you know these CFAs um how how those will results will be communicated regularly with parents. The the parent engagement piece is is there. It's listed. I'm just thinking about the, you know, the day-to-day and and weekly followup with parents. So, thank you. I I do appreciate that question because one of the things that we want to do is just to kick off this this the strategic plan is to inform our school community of the changes and also really talk about, you know, CFAs, what they are, and what we can expect. CFAs are meant to be short uh assessments that uh assess discrete skills that give us in that give us the data to inform instructional plans, interventions, and so
108forth. And so um I think that's something that we want to continue to build out. Um there are some possibilities. They're not built into the strategic plan, but for example, we have with our new student information system, we have a grade book um that we've been piloting. And so we're thinking about ways to just really simplify the the communication where parents have access to look at student data and understand what it is. So that's something that we're we're going to think about and build out because we definitely want our parents to be partners in in this educational experience and we want them to be informed. Um but but I I I I hear your question and I definitely want to make sure that we can build it in into you know some next steps for
109parent um engagement. So how were these um like increase by 10% the number of students the number of alts by 20% annually? How did we arrive at these figures specifically? So, we're internally um we're starting to look at our data that's still not official data for um the school year, right? So, we just finished taking the state assessment. Um we have unofficial results if we're starting to calculate and it looks like once you know we're we're pretty much our growth is flat um again unofficially and looking at all the possibilities of the areas where we can grow. So the majority of our students um sit in that middle band, right? And so there is opportunity statistically to move students with very discreet instruct, intentional instruction. And so statistically and researchbased it's not we wouldn't be
110able to maintain a 10% growth year after year but because of where we are with our data we have the ability to grow more than 10% in year 1 with just completely overhauling our educational approach. Um and so you know it was a it was a very intentional targeted meeting where we're looking at data. We're looking at the possibility for year 1 and 10% is where we landed to hold ourselves accountable to making sure that by 2030 uh our students are showing academic excellence on the CASP. Okay. In the month of August, we will bring our ESPback data to the board and I'll be able to show you where we see that 10% growth and how we can it can it is very doable in year one looking at our numbers. Okay. Yeah. I I
111I'm asking because I'm I'm dealing with it on my end over there as well and um there were some pie in the sky numbers that were given a few years back and I I that I was not involved with and now I'm having to deal with it and thinking why how do you make it happen? Yeah. Any other questions on this page? priority area one. I you know it was um helpful to have the LCAP presentation today and um to see this um this page really nicely laid out as well. Um I just really appreciate the focus and ambition that we see here. So thank you. you know, and and as I I something else I want to say about our student scores is that um when we bring back data in August, you're going
112to see some really exciting growth at some of our school sites. One one school site making 17% growth um at at one of our schools, you know, 11% growth. And so it's it's something that we have success. Some of our schools have reached that success and and they've been able to break through with those big that big jump. Um and so there is a formula to the approach and it's it it comes back to some of the strategies that we've outlined. It's really that targeted instruction for students. um the common formative assessments are going to be really the big big difference and the big change um that we're introducing districtwide. And so I believe that it's doable. It's a big number, but it's doable. And more than anything, more you know, it's something that we
113absolutely have to do because of where our data lands. So priority area number two um is the the the area is to deliver diverse experiences and opportunities that prepare students for future success. The description for that area is we will engage all students in meaningful interest driven learning experiences during and beyond the traditional school day that spark curiosity, promote growth and build essential academic, creative, social and healthy life skills. We have two goals in this area, two long range goals. Uh the first one is to engage all students in interestdriven pathways including visual and performing arts, VAPA, career technical education, CTE, and career exploration through a defined progression of skills at each grade level. The second goal is to ensure that every student participates in at least one elective, enrichment program, athletic opportunity, or club
114annually to support personalized engagement. The focus goal for the upcoming year is to develop and implement a district-wide progression of experiences including VAPA and career awareness opportunities for all students. Two metrics for goal number one, implement a music and arts plan using a standardsbased rubric. Goal or metric number two, analyze student engagement survey results to reflect and incorporate student voice into pro programmatic decisions. For goal number two, develop and implement a district-wide scope and sequence for field trips and career college exposure experiences and monitor program offerings and enrollment to ensure equitable access. The strategies across um this priority area are to design a VAPA matrix by grade level to ensure a defined culturally responsive progression of skills across all grade levels. Integrate interest driven learning experiences, including project-based learning and real world applications into the
115core instructional day. Establish school site and district level partnerships with local businesses, colleges, and organizations to host career connected learning experiences. Expand sitebased elective enrichment, athletic programs, and club offerings to reflect student interests and monitor participation annually. and offer ongoing multilingual family engagement opportunities focused on the arts, career pathways, and college readiness. One of the things I'll just comment in in the process of kind of putting some of this together is I really like that I can visualize what the school district could look like in five years when all of this is fully implemented. And I it's one of the really exciting pieces of this I think for me just seeing how transformational it could really be for our students. I I really love that in the metrics um we have the student voice piece
116and then also just tracking the um enrollment just you know making sure that the students are engaged and um giving their feedback. Agreed. Don't worry. No, just I I can already tell how uh jealous my two older ones are going to be that they're not going to have these opportunities that their younger sister probably is going to have. So, okay. So, moving on to priority. Priority area number three. Prepare students to thrive in an interconnected world. We will nurture the whole child by fostering inclusive, safe, and supportive communities that integrate social, emotional learning. Embrace diversity and meet the needs of all stern learners. So we have four long range goals here. Number one, foster meaningful connections for every student by ensuring they are known, valued, and supported by at least one trusted adult advocate who
117promotes a sense of belonging at school. 3.2 Enhance student connectedness and safety through predictable inclusive norms, structures, and routines across learning environments. 3.3 Engage all students in grade level reflections and portfolio development that highlight how they are embodying EMCSD learner dispositions. 3.4 Cultivate and monitor responsible digital citizenship by integrating instruction on online safety, ethical technology use, and digital literacy across all grade levels. The focus goal for um the 2526 school year would be to strengthen inclusive systems of support and deepen authentic adult- center relationships throughout the district. The metrics uh for goal one would be to establish a district-wide system to ensure that every student is meaningfully connected to at least one trusted adult and monitor its implementation across all schools and student groups. 3.2 Two, measure social, emotional, and behavior behavioral wellness using a
118universal screener. Also, monitor restorative practice referral and resolution data disagregated by student groups to assess the impact of social, emotional, and behavioral supports. For 3.3, develop and implement a system for EMCSD learner disposition, self-reflection, and portfolios. And 3.4, for evaluate student participation and proficiency in a digital literacy and citizenship curriculum aligned to district expectations. The strategies across this priority area are to develop a student mentorship program to build consistent supportive relationships with trusted adults. Develop and reinforce common schoolwide norms and classroom routines that foster a safe and welcoming environment. Develop a district-wide toolkit to provide schools with strategies and resources for building relationships and fostering a positive classroom culture. Analyze the SCB screener data disagregated by student group regularly to inform schoolwide practices, guide tier one practices and tier 2 supports and monitor student well-being
119over time. Connect EMCSD learner dispositions to teaching, learning, and student experiences districtwide. Integrate student voice and lived experiences into school improvement and climate planning. Teach digital citizenship explicitly through a defined progression of skills at every grade level. Host ongoing multilingual family learning sessions focused on social emotional development, healthy technology use, and overall well-being. And that's priority area number three. The um the goal and metric that really stand out to me are the um meaningful connections, right? Ensure every student is meaning meaningfully meaningfully connected to at least one trusted adult. I I know that's something that each year we've looked at that that one number um when we get our survey results back and it's just stood out and I appreciate that that's become an area of focus and the healthy kid survey. Absolutely. um just
120reflecting on our wonderful student speakers at Promotion um and in hearing about just you know their journey and their successes and it was just really powerful for them for me to hear that they each all they all named adults um within our system whether they were after school providers or teachers um those connections really made a difference and so the power in making sure that Every student has somebody on our campus, whether it be an afterchool provider, whether it be one of our teachers, classified staff, someone that they can go to, turn to, and that we do it in a very systematic way is very exciting. Any other questions or comments on that Priority area number four, align leadership, staffing, and resources to student centered priorities. We will advance student success through a purposeful, goal-riven
121allocation of resources and assets. Number one, ensure that the work and daily actions of all staff members are aligned with the strategic plan, fostering a unified sense of purpose, coherence, and collective responsibility for student success across the district. Goal two, align resource allocation, staffing, and programmatic decisions to the strategic plan with the focus on student outcomes. And goal three, deliver professional learning that is personalized and role specific, designed to build the capacity of administrators, teachers, support staff, and families with the tools to lead and drive student success. The focus goal for the 2526 school year would be to launch and maintain a data dashboard to monitor progress on strategic plan goals. The metric for goal number one is to increase the percentage of staff who indicate on an annual survey that they understand how their
122role aligns with the strategic plan and support student outcomes. Metric for goal number two is to use an alignment rubric or scoring tool to evaluate programs for coherence with strategic priorities and their impact on student outcomes. And the for goal number three, monitor the percentage of professional learning sessions tailored to specific roles and analyze participant feedback on the relevance and effectiveness of these sessions. The strategies across this priority area are to embed connections to the strategic plan within staff meetings, goal setting processes, and professional learning to ensure that all employees connect their work and daily actions to advancing district priorities. Establish a district-wide decision-making protocol that requires all resource, staffing, and program proposals to include a clear rationale for how they support specific strategic goals and improve student outcomes. Design and implement a district-wide professional
123learning framework that differentiates by role, aligns with strategic goals, and incorporates feedback from staff and families, and provides ongoing opportunities for families provide ongoing opportunities for families to participate in decision-making, stay informed, and offer feedback through multilingual engagement sessions, surveys, and school site communication. One of the things um in the strategies I'm wondering if we can include um a component of the review and evaluation annually um at the board level maybe at the you know you know at at all different levels um as a part of kind of the ongoing strategy of of maintain review that sort of thing. So, so what I'd like to bring back um next week is is the complete strategic plan with the corrections and and also an introduction to the strategic plan that I think would pretty much position
124the plan for the work that lies ahead, including the oversight that the board will have in reviewing the strategic plan. So that's something that I'll build out for the actual action item um with the board's input of course. So tonight is an opportunity to look at this to reflect u feel free to reach out and share any any thoughts um before it comes back as an action item uh for the next board meeting. Um and and lastly what I will say is is that I'm I'm really excited. I I'm I've been excited about the process. I'm excited about, you know, having um a plan for all of us to to look at and, you know, just it's very forward- facing and it points us all in the same direction. Uh one of the things that
125we've been doing as part of the strategic plan is really analyzing all of the things that we do. And in this district, we've always had this approach that we do whatever it takes because we want to be there for each other. We want to be there for our kids. We want to be there for our school community. And while that sentiment is still very much true, there going to be there's going to be precision in our actions moving forward. And and so can we make 10% growth? Absolutely. I know it in my heart. I know that when I was a site leader at a school site, I know the value of make when when you when you set a goal and you align all of your resources in that direction and you make sure that
126every person on your team is convinced that it's something that we can do and you give them the resources to do it, it happens. It really does come together. And I know that this is the plan that's going to bring our district together in in a way because we we already come together, but this is going to bring us together in a very different way with precision with with focus to make sure that, you know, we achieve the goals that we're setting out to do. They're ambitious. They're lofty, but they're doable. We have the right people on the bus. Every single person that sits on the seats in this district are are capable. they have the heart to make sure that we take our district to the next level. We've done it every every time.
127We've we've set a challenge for ourselves. We've been able to do it. Now, we've put some really lofty numbers. We put some lofty goals that are just going to be, you know, um the plan that we need to move ahead. So, I'm excited for the direction. I look forward to hearing uh to getting feedback from the board um so that we can bring this back as an action item. and and then the plan would be to present it to our school community in August when we meet for the start of the school year. I'd like to make a comment um and it's related to this. The other day I was watching Alice in Wonderland again and the little devilish cheshure cat in the tree looks down and asks her, "Where are you going?" She said,
128"I don't know." He said, "Well, then any road will get you there. What I really enjoy about this strategic plan is it's all inclusive, all community is involved, the staff, the children, and the families where in the past it was always focus on the school. What about everybody else that's involved? It's totally inclusive. It's like the Marine Corps. Leave nobody behind. I think it's wonderfully done and now it's the doing of it. Let's do it. I love it. Thank you. And so, oh, go ahead. Sorry. I was just going to say something else. Um, just to kind of piggyback on that idea is I I was involved at all the different levels of the the creation of this and I I really think that anybody who was a part of those initial meetings um the
129the guiding coalition and the subcommittees and things can look at this and feel like they recognize what it is that that this represents what they contributed to the process, their concerns, their goals, their ideas. And so I'm I'm really happy with where we ended up and I I think it's um I I think and I hope that it's something that everyone embraces as their own to help move it forward. Thank you for saying that because it's just so important, right? Um those 90 people, some were even outside of our school community, but within, you know, our our local community. And so for it means a lot that you would say that, right? that um that you all in the guiding coalition gave everyone a target and I know the board has has worked but I
130I also know that cabinet and your teams have put um extensive work into this as well. Um and you know thinking about streamlining what it is that we do for really um targeted outcomes I think is is wonderful. So, thank you for everything that you all have been doing alongside this. Any other discussion on the strategic plan? So, we'll look at look at it um consider it for a vote next week. Okay. Are there any other items that you would like to um consider at future meetings? Okay. Uh then, thank you all for being here. I can't believe we had an audience stay for the entire meeting. Thank you for staying sticking it out with us. We adjourn the meeting at 7:52.