001Doug Paulson: Tell me when. Alright. Alright. Well it is 6 p.m.. We're going to call to order this regular meeting of the Board of Education. We are looking for any public comments regarding closed session items. Seeing none, we're going to close. We're going to adjourn to closed session. We will reconvene at 7 p.m.. All right. Well, at this time, we are going to reconvene this regular meeting of the Escondido Union School District Board of Trustees. And we are going to start off. With the Pledge of Allegiance, led by Lyla Silsbee of Bear Valley. Lyla Silsbee: Please stand. Put your right hand over your heart. Ready? Begin. All: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and
002justice for all. Thank you. Doug Paulson: And, ladies and gentlemen, it's not on the agenda. But at this time I would like to ask for a moment of silence for fifth grader Brandon Montoya Sanchez of Rose Elementary School, who passed away this last week for Brandon Montoya Sanchez. Thank you all. Continuing on roll call. All members are present. We do have a report out of closed session. Mark Olson: Thank you, Mr. Paulson. Item B three. In closed session, the board consider dismissal charges against a classified probationary employee and took action to approve those charges and release employee number 306597 by a unanimous vote of 5 to 0. That concludes report. Doug Paulson: Thank you. Moving on to approval of the agenda. Are there any corrections or changes? Zesty Harper: I move approval. Mark Olson: I'll
003second. Doug Paulson: We have a motion and a second. All in favor? Okay. Raise your hands, please. And motion passes 5 to 0. Moving on to approval of the minutes of the last meeting. And that is the meeting of September 18th. Looking for a motion to approve. Frank Huston: Motion to approve the agenda. Joan Gardner: Second. Doug Paulson: We have a motion and a second. All in favor, please raise your hands. Motion passes 5 to 0. Thank you very much. Moving on to recognitions. Dr. Luis Ibarra: All right. Good evening, everyone. It's our favorite part of the meeting. And so at this time, we'd like to have Principal Jason Wrzeski, principal of Bear Valley Middle School, come up. Jason Wrzeski: Good evening. School board and cabinet. My name is Jason Wrzeski, and I'm the principal
004at Bear Valley Middle School. Before we get started this evening, I'd like to recognize the Bear Valley Middle School families and staff that are in attendance this evening. Please stand to be recognized [applause]. Thank you. This year we are starting year one implementation of our redesign work that we have begun last year. This year we introduced our students to our new motto and values, which is Keeping it Real at Bear Valley, where Real r-e-a-l stands for real-world empowered authentic leaders. We have also begun to implement our five big moves, which are listed on the following slide. Some of the work that we have already started this year includes the addition of multi-grade level advisory periods, where students work on their year long portfolio, which they are gathering evidence of their demonstrations of the learner profiles
005and will present in a showcase at the end of the year. During our week of welcome, we conducted an all school showcase where each advisory class developed an activity that represents our new values. Also, as an instructional focus. Teachers have intentionally linked the 6 EUSD learner profiles to daily learning targets as evidence of the learning targets posted daily in the classrooms. In addition, classrooms have begun to develop community partnerships, and we have begun to expand our leadership opportunities with the addition of our extensive explorer class offerings and our collaboration with San Pasqual High School and bringing San Pasqual student led clubs to Bear Valley, such as Builder's Club and our new robotics team. We are very excited to continue our implementation work with these students, with our students, staff and families and look forward to
006what these changes will bring. And now to the important part of of the night and recognizing these three amazing students as they have been chosen as Bear Valley's Student Excellence Award winners. I would like to call up Tessa, Lyla, and Anastasia [applause]. I would first like to recognize sixth grade student Tessa Housken. Tessa Housken exemplifies the EUSD learner profiles as an empowered learner, empathetic collaborator, and critical thinker. She applies skills to real world, real world problems, shows perseverance, seeks feedback, and demonstrates a strong growth mindset. In group settings, Tessa values diverse perspective, ensures equity of voice, and promotes collaboration by building on the strengths of others. Her curiosity, thoughtful questions, and analytical skills deepen discussions, making her making her a leader who truly embodies the the learner profiles. Congratulations, Tessa. [applause] Next, I would like
007to recognize seventh grade student. Lyla Silsbee. Lyla Silsbee exemplifies all 6 EUSD learner profiles and is a dedicated student who demonstrates, demonstrates strong character and leadership in everything she does. She goes above and beyond to build meaningful relationships with both her peers and teachers, showing kindness and respect to everyone around her. Lyla's positivity, curiosity, and willingness to ask thoughtful questions make her an engaged learner in the classroom, and as a WEB leader, she serves as an excellent role model and mentor for our sixth grade students, guiding them with encouragement and support. Congratulations, Lyla [applause]. And finally, I'd like to recognize eighth grade student Anastasia Tran. Anastasia exemplifies the National Junior Honor Society, pillars of scholarship, leadership and service, character and citizenship. She actively contributes in class discussions, helping peers gain clarity while elevating learning. A
008natural collaborator, she balances listening with contributing, ensuring all voices are heard, all voices are valued. On a trip to Italy, she embraced a new culture and demonstrated strong leadership among her peers. She demonstrates daily the EUSD six learner profiles and is a deserving student of this award. Congratulations, Anastasia [applause]. Sharill Cortez: Good evening parents, board president Paulson, board members, cabinet. Oh, oh. And my Central team. If I can also have my awesome Central team. Go ahead and stand up as well, please. Thank you. [applause] And then my three students. Come on up. Isaac, Marlee and Melanie. Come on up. At Central Elementary everything we do comes back to one big idea: community. Whether it's through strengthening attendance, bringing the district's learner model to life, or creating new ways for students to lead, our focus is
009always on belonging and connection. The progress we've made seen our students, families and staff come together in powerful ways, co-creating goals, sharing their voices, and shaping a school where students know they matter is a result of many voices. Together, we have created a school culture where showing up each day is celebrated, where perseverance and learning go hand in hand, and where students are not only heard but trusted as leaders. Central is more than classrooms and hallways. It's a place where belonging is lived, not just talked about. Our students are growing into leaders who take responsibility, inspire their peers, and build a community that reflects the values we all share. This is a Central we are becoming a true community school in spirit, where every person has a place, a purpose, and a voice. At Central,
010we've been deeply focused on nurturing a sense of belonging, building community, and elevating student voice and leadership. Tonight, we are proud to recognize three students who truly embody these values, each in their own unique way. First, we'll start with Marlee Mayne. Marlee shines as a classroom leader through her everyday actions. She consistently models PAWS expectations, steps up to take on new challenges, and shows kindness by helping her peers. If she's unsure, she isn't afraid to seek input from classmates or her teacher. Showing both humility and teamwork. This year, when fifth grade began using vertical whiteboards, Marlee motivated her group to engage with the task, persevere when it was difficult, and show their thinking with others. Her enthusiasm for learning and growth not only strengthens her own skills, but also uplifts those around her [applause]. Isaac
011Rios. Isaac demonstrates that leadership extends beyond the classroom walls. While excelling academically, he also goes above and beyond to support teachers and his peers. From volunteering to set up PE before school to participating in EXPLORE enrichment activities like rugby, invasion games, and soccer to serving as a PE youth trainer, Isaac leads by example. His respect for others hard work and willingness to serve reflect his commitment to community and belonging. His leadership is both steady and inspiring [applause]. And Melanie Velarde. Melanie is a student whose leadership radiates in all areas academically, athletically, and socially. She is hard working, service minded, and deeply respected not only by her peers, but also by younger students who look who look up to her as a role model. Melanie's presence brings light and positivity to everyone she encounters. Her kindness,
012dedication, and natural ability to connect with others makes her an anchor in building a welcoming and inclusive school community [applause]. Laura Ruggles: So good evening, President Paulson, doctor Ibarra, Mr. Maguire, board of Education and Cabinet. Before I get started, I do want to say thank you for honoring our student, Brandon Montoya Sanchez. It is an honor to be here tonight to introduce you to three amazing Rose Dolphins who are truly making a splash at our school. Before we recognize them, I would like to ask all of our family members and staff to please stand and be recognized. Thank you all for being here tonight. Please stand [applause]. I'm so excited to have the opportunity to share some of the amazing things that are happening at Rose school as we enter, technically, year two of our
013school redesign. We have a new logo and a new motto, Make a Splash, to reflect our school's growth and vision. Our commitment to academic achievement continues with a strong focus on universal access in both ELA and mathematics, ensuring that every student has the support they need to succeed. Student engagement is thriving through our biweekly pod meetings, where cross grade level groups come together to build relationships and strengthen social emotional learning. Finally, our emphasis on climate and culture shines through in the many activities designed to create a welcoming and connected school community. And as you can see from our photos, a wonderful example of this climate and culture was our Ohana Day on the first day of school, when all students and staff dressed with the Aloha spirit and received a warm welcome with a lei
014as they enter campus. We have a lot to be proud of at Rose, including these three dolphins that I'm going to ask to come up here with me right now. So could I have Aaron Vera, Angela Vasquez Castillo, and Jazlynn Hernandez join me at the podium [applause]? Aaron Vera is in Mrs. Calderon's kindergarten class. Aaron is an outstanding kindergarten student who demonstrates exceptional achievement across all academic areas. His advanced understanding of science in particular reflects knowledge and curiosity well beyond his years. In addition to his academic strengths, Aaron is remarkably compassionate and consistently encourages an inclusive environment for his classmates. Always looking out for the well-being of others, it is for these reasons and more, that Aaron is highly deserving of recognition with the Student Excellence Award. Congratulations, Aaron [applause]. Okay. Are you ready? Okay.
015Good job. Angela Vasquez Castillo is in Mrs. Suchy's third grade class. Angela is an incredible third grader with a bright, infectious energy that makes everyone around her smile. She's always eager to learn new things and never hesitates to help her classmates in almost any situation. Angela is a critical thinker and asks questions that help her have a deeper understanding of the lessons, which often ends up with her teaching all of us something new. Mrs. Suchy says Angela's enthusiasm and curiosity make her a joy to be around each and every day. Thank you Angela [applause]. Jazlynn Hernandez is in Mrs. Taylor's fourth grade class. Every morning, Jazlynn comes to school with a positive attitude. She greets her teacher and classmates with a warm, genuine smile. She is a role model fourth grader. Jazlynn shows intense focus
016when she reads a book, and when she's solving math problems, she makes strong connections between life and what she is learning. Jazlynn shows kindness, empathy, and compassion towards her peers and staff. It is for these reasons that Jazlynn has been selected as the recipient of our grade four Student Excellence Award. Congratulations, Jazlynn [applause]. Doug Paulson: All right. Well, thank you everyone so much. Parents, thank you so much for trusting us with your children. Teachers, staff, administrators, thank you all so much for everything you're doing for the students every day. And students, congratulations to you. We are going to take a five minute recess so that you can head home, get dinner, whatever it is you need to do. Thank you all again so much for coming. We will reconvene at 7:33 or so. All right.
017We are going to reconvene. Okay. We are going to reconvene and move right into public comment, starting off with Collean Goldsmith [applause]. There she is. Colleen Goldsmith: My name is Colleen Goldsmith, and I come before this body in my capacity as a teacher at Rincon Middle School. This time last year, I did what I always knew I would do drive my 99 4runner until the wheels fell off. Both of them did within a week of each other. It cost me nearly $6,000 to repair, because I work for EUSD and have not had a meaningful raise in years due to the ridiculous structure of the teacher's salary schedule. I didn't have the money to pay this back, so I had to file bankruptcy. I can't even afford to replace my 4runner that I now call Chitty
018Chitty Bang Bang, because I have not gotten a raise in years as well. This time last year, our union was bargaining our raises and we were offered a 0% raise. I sat down and wrote an impassioned letter to this board and this cabinet about my dire circumstances, and I got no response. Had it not been for EEEA, I would not have received any raise whatsoever, leading to further financial destitution as inflationary pressures continue to strip me of even the basic necessities. So when the EEEA Board position of secretary opened up, I decided to run for that office, and I won. When I attended the insurance committee meeting recently, I was incensed to learn that of the three classes of employees in this district, it is the teachers insurance premiums that are being arbitrarily driven up
019at a greater rate than any other class of employee, and that that money is simply being pocketed. So on top of every other financial ignominy I've had to face, I am now expected to pay more for taking care of my health? The injustice of these policies speak for themselves. Everything made sense to me at that moment. Nobody cares about me or any of us teachers except our union. EEEA cares, and that's fine. But now, as chair of the Organizing Committee of EEEA, I have made it my mission to make changes at the ballot box that will restore justice and fairness to the financial lives of all the teachers in EUSD. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Doug Paulson: Andrea Sima: All right. Hi there. I am Andrea Sima, employee since 1999. There's the
020party in the house, right? Yeah. All right, so I know times have changed since then. However, I want to remind everyone that what made me choose Escondido Union School District over Poway Unified was the benefits package that EUSD provided [applause]. It was free and that was family benefits. Now, I know times have changed and the only thing that doesn't change is taxes and death. However, I am privileged now to state that my husband covers me, so I waive the medical. I truly wish that that 14,000 plus that I do not benefit from could benefit others right now as our costs are rising stiffly for the second year in a row. I want my benefits that I should be getting to go towards others rather than general fund. Thank you for thinking about that in the
021future. Doug Paulson: And Gwen Smith. Gwen Smith: Thank you, cabinet and board. I might be a familiar face for you. I just want to let you know not everyone is brave enough to come up here and talk and share. And you guys are here, and I've got to be the voice for people. And so one of my strengths is hopefully speaking for people that can't. I just ask as we move forward this year that you show your care and priority to our teachers' benefits and cost of insurance. As you're hearing the stories, teachers have superpowers and that is the work to support the students, right? I mean, we're here, I work at Rincon, so we have a lot of Rincon representation. I find it so great that I can't even find a parking spot 30
022minutes before we're even supposed to report, because these teachers are here for the kids. They're doing the job. And it's like, when I need my taxes done, I go to a tax expert and you're counting on us to take care of the kids, and we're counting on you to support us and fight for us. Right? Like you're the ones looking out for us. That's how I see it. And so the solution is to put our employees as a focus and not opposed to just a budgetary item to be cut. We want to make sure that teachers salaries are keeping up with the cost of living, and our health insurance costs specifically need to be a top priority to recruit and retain qualified and diverse, effective teachers and workforce. And I do want you to know
023that when you look at the employees that are here, they're here a long time. They're we're invested in EUSD. I've been here since 1999. I did leave and I've left and I've shared this before. I've been in four districts, and the reason why I share that is that I've had the opportunity to compare and see other districts. And we have the hardest working, most dedicated teachers I've ever seen. And that's why I'm back here. And I'm just really pleading with you to please show that. And in our salaries and in our benefits, show that we just want to see that. We want to see that we're a priority. We were putting the children first. We're asking you to put the teachers as a priority. Thank you. Doug Paulson: Melinda Britt: Good evening. Oh, boy. Big
024shoes to follow. My name is Melinda Britt. 25 year employee of the district. I work at Pioneer Elementary. Very proud to have been there my entire 25 years and like some other people, when I was hired, I came here and I chose this district because I felt like I was made to feel important, and I felt like I was coming to a great place. And part of that was that our benefits, the package, I paid zero. And that was truly amazing. And now here I am 25 years later and I'm thinking to myself, well, thankfully I hit 25 years. So yeah, I did get a little bump in my pay. But now what's going to happen with my benefits? And what about my friends behind me who I have a friend who works three jobs,
025one of which is a teacher. Yeah, pretty. Pretty crazy, right? But in today's world, that's what has to happen for people to put food on the table. And we give our heart and soul every single day for the kids, the people that work here at EUSD. They're your greatest asset. We are your greatest asset. Certificated. Classified. We're all important and we all do an amazing job. So why is it that when it comes time to negotiate, it's we're treated like the stepchildren. We're treated poorly. It's always push and pull and push and pull and push and pull. And we're made to feel that we're not worth. And that is really I just want you to know how I feel and how those behind me feel, and how many others feel that it's time to step
026up. And why don't we reward our greatest assets our teachers, our certificated and classified staff. Thank you. Doug Paulson: And Lana Albertson. Lana Alberston: Lana Albertson. From Bear Valley Middle school. I've been a teacher in this district for over 30 years, and I've been here since 1994, and I too chose EUSD over Poway, which is where I live. And my children went because of the benefits and because I felt valued at that time. I came to a point where it was like, okay, I got to pick where am I going to go? And I chose chose EUSD and now I regret it. This is very frustrating. I'm very disappointed in the board's decision not to contribute to our health insurance. Because of my many years of teaching. I get a slap in the face because
027I don't get a yearly raise. So I'm now getting a pay cut. At the current proposal, I will be paying well over $200 more a month for my insurance, resulting in me literally getting a pay cut. You want me to continue to work above and beyond for the children, which I do, and with my recognitions I've had over the years here at EUSD. And yet you want to cut my pay. This shows that you don't respect me, or my fellow teachers, or our work with the children that are entrusted in this district. I feel unappreciated and betrayed. You disregard my commitment and dedication to children's growth and development. I strongly urge you all to reconsider contributing to our benefits and start regaining our trust with one another again, because right now it's very broken. It
028is very frustrating. And here we are. We give a lot. We we give our heart and soul like someone has just said. And yet you want to cut our pay and you want us to pay more. It's very disrespectful. I'm very disappointed in all of you. And so please, I would beg you to reconsider so that we can work on mending this broken bridge. Thank you. Doug Paulson: All right. Right now we are moving on to a public hearing. The statement of assurance for pupil textbooks and instructional materials incentive program. Andrew McGuire: This is related to the Williams audits that we had just gone through. And there will be an item to adopt that later on in the meeting. Doug Paulson: And are there any speakers for this item? All right. That being said, we
029will close this public hearing and move on to our report from CSEA chapter 150. Noemi Navarrete: Good evening everyone. I'm just going to read off what I had written. Tonight our executive team met with board. Board met with both board and cabinet to discuss topics that are important to the continued relationship we have built over the years. And I feel like we ironed out some things and we, you know, brought up some elephants in the room. So. So a concern that I think we all share and you shared in the moment was the continued rise in insurance rates. And I think our teachers have done a very good job of expressing their frustration and their concerns. I do have to speak on behalf of our classified staff, as some of you know, some of our
030classified work as little as five hours in order to make that possible for them to even, you know, get insurance our three hour employees do not get insurance. So for those classified staff that are able to have insurance, it is merely impossible. And so I although I do acknowledge that our teachers are suffering, our rates went up really high last year and this year, although they did not go up as high as the teachers did. It was it still continues to go up. And and I think you guys shared this same concern we do where what do we do? Is it is it at the board level? Is it at the state level. Is it at the national level, right? Where insurance companies are raising rates, and what is it that we can do as
031a team, as a collaborative group, EUSD, CSEA, and EEEA to ensure that our families, our staff can put food on the table and still go to the doctor, because every time a staff member is sick, it impacts our students, it impacts the running of our schools, and we've had losses over the years, right, where people cannot come back because of their injuries, because of their health issues. And if they would have been able to get treated ahead of time, it would have made a world of a difference. So I don't know what we need to do as a collaborative group in order to move forward and support our staff to, in order to better serve our students. Every time we have a staff member out, it impacts everyone. So to to that thank you so
032much for meeting with us tonight. And keep us in mind when you guys want to talk about what can we do? Okay. Thank you so much. Bye. [applasue] I'm back. I also have to do my. No. I know, I just keep going, right? You guys, we're going to be here all night. I do have to make an announcement as CSEA president. Because then, you know, I'm going to get in trouble. We are also announcing Carlos Magana as the personal commissioner representing CSEA. So I just want to make sure I put that in writing somewhere. Michelle? Okay. Because then Ashley needs that so that we can put it on the board agenda for next time. Okay. Thank you so much. Doug Paulson: You can still come back to the podium if you need to. All right.
033EEEA. Brandi Krepps: Good evening president Paulson, school board members, doctor Ibarra and cabinet. Noemi, to answer your question, what could they do? You could put us first. All of us, all of the employees in our district should come first before anything else [applause]. And I say that because if we're not okay, the kids are not okay. Because you need us to show up. You need us to be here every day to keep the schools running, to keep kids educated. You need all of us. Classified. Certificated. We should come first. And I don't always feel like we do. Unfortunately. I too chose this district. I born and raised Cardiff and Encinitas. San Diegito High school district, highest paid in the county. Have been since I was a kid. I very easily could have gotten a job
034there because they hire the people that graduate from their school district. That's who they want. I chose this district. I was young, my husband had horrible health care. Still does. I've covered him for 28 years, and I have to be honest, it's getting to the point where he's actually going to be having better health care than us, and I've never been there before. We had a free PPO. It was amazing. I had great health care for my kids. I had two high risk pregnancies, and when we lost that free PPO, I took a $14,000 pay cut that year. We couldn't pay our medical bills, so understand that this does affect us and I know it affects everybody, but we are the faces of the people that it affects. We are the real people. We're we're
035not just a budgetary item. And that's what's really hard for us right now, is we're going through this process of trying to show our worth and our value. And I have to thank you for parading our five teachers up here at that last board meeting that worked their tails off to have incredible test scores, and we shouldn't be rated on test scores. But all of these teachers here, I've worked with all of them for years, and they're amazing teachers. And I want to thank the staff who came tonight. It's great to see you guys all here and you get to see what goes on. But I would also like to thank you guys for still continuing to recognize our teachers. And I don't want you to stop doing that, but that was just a glimpse
036of what we do in our district. We are the heart and soul, all of us. We have close to 1000 certificated staff members who put their blood, sweat and tears into their jobs. Sleepless nights and weekends all spent thinking about how to make their students educational experiences meaningful and worthwhile. When looking at our budgets and looking for cuts, make all of our employees a priority. Again, thank you Certificated staff for being here. I really appreciate seeing you guys. And just remember, we should come first because you guys always say we are EUSD, right? So here we are. So recognize us and take care of us. Thank you. Doug Paulson: All right. And I, I know it's just words, but we truly do recognize everything you do as a classroom teacher, as a classified staff member.
037And we there will be more comments on the medical insurance situation later. But we I can't really comment about it now. We do need to move on to consent agenda at this time. Are there any items to pull or that anyone wants separated out? All right. We'll confer a motion to approve. Mark Olson: Motion to approve consent agenda as presented. Joan Gardner: Second. Doug Paulson: We have a motion and a second. All in favor, please say aye. Mark Olson: Aye. Doug Paulson: Any opposed? Motion passes five zero. Zesty Harper: It was working. Doug Paulson: Mine didn't work. So let's just, let's just go verbal consent. And. Sorry. Alright, we've got our item M1 human resources added hourly pay rate increase. Audrey Frank: Hi. Yes, I'm seeking approval for a pay, an hourly pay increase for
038our avid tutors in accordance with the minimum rate. Minimum wage increase effective January 1st, 2026 from $16.50 to $16.90. Doug Paulson: So basically what we're doing here is taking employees who are at the moment not making what will be minimum wage and bringing them up to minimum wage. Correct. Lookimg for a motion to approve. Frank Huston: Motion to approve. Zesty Harper: I'll second. Doug Paulson: Have a motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes five zero. Okay. Item N1, we have several board policies. Andrew McGuire: Okay. So the first one is about district records. And this is coming in line with new law in around cybersecurity specifically that one, we must provide training to our staff around cybersecurity because of the many different attacks that have
039happened on different agencies, especially public agencies around the state and the country. So we must provide cyber security training to our employees and also to make sure that all of our records are kept in a secure location digitally. So that's the first reading of that one. And they're all one item. So I can go through all of them and we can pull one out if we need to. Doug Paulson: Okay. Go ahead. Andrew McGuire: And then we have update to a board bylaw with a resolution, but also a board policy around conflicts of interest. And again updating to align with law, new law. Where voting members of the board, the board would have to essentially, just to summarize it very briefly, recuse from votes if they have a conflict of interest, a financial interest, for
040instance, in any of the contracts we would be issuing. So it's kind of a standard practice already, but this would bring it into board policy, into the board bylaws is also kind of updating some of the who has to be fill out the form 700, which is our statement of financial interests, real estate interests and whatnot, that could be conflicts of interest when you get into our positions on the board here in cabinet, but also some of our directors that can sign purchase orders and things of that nature, encumbering district funds that they should never do. So in favor of anything that they have a conflict of interest within. So this would be the first reading of all of that. If the board would like to discuss, bring it back for a second reading, or
041do one or the other, we could amend the vote in that way as well. Doug Paulson: Okay. Do we have any questions on either of these board policies? Seeing no questions, I would be interested in just passing these board policies right now as presented. If we had a motion. Okay, so, Mr. Huston moves. Do we have a second? Joan Gardner: Second? Doug Paulson: Miss Gardner seconds. Further discussion? All in favor please say aye. Zesty Harper: Aye. Doug Paulson: All right. Motion passes five zero. Didn't come up on mine. It's much faster this way. All right. Board member reports, Miss Gardner. Joan Gardner: I don't have a report, per se. Except to say that I had the privilege to attend a a dedication of a bench and a tree at Mission Middle School in honor of
042Tamara Whitney, who was a one of a kind, extraordinary teacher. And the the creator of Mission TV. Many fond memories were shared and many former students showed up to to honor her. So she will not soon be forgotten. And also, there's a new influx of yellow butterflies at the site, which is a sign it was said. I look forward to visiting when the tree that they planted blooms with the yellow flowers as well as as expected. Doug Paulson: All right. Thank you, Mr. Huston. Frank Huston: I will add just a couple comments that I want to thank CSEA for their time this afternoon. And I know that I appreciate those times that we get to sit down and have those discussions and it's it's very meaningful and it's and I'm glad that we're continuing that.
043And I'm looking forward to some good conversations in the future. I appreciate your guys's time. Additionally, I was really excited about the YMCA opening up its pool, and I want to say that that is just a fantastic program. I was surprised that it started up so quickly because when we originally were talking about this, about 8 or 9 months ago, it was, there was a concern of how quickly they could get the the pool up and running, and to see the kids in the pool was exciting. And I'm looking forward to everything that's going to go along with that. So I want to thank staff for all the hard work that they did. And in reference to getting that up and running. So thank you. That's my report. Mark Olson: Just a couple of things.
044Just want to apologize to CSEA for my tardiness in the meeting this morning. I would have been there had not another truck not been connected to my car, so I apologize. But I also want to echo appreciation for all the employees that are here this evening. We hear you. It'll take a lot of hard work, but I appreciate. I know my colleagues appreciate your attendance. And also just echo what Mr. Huston said. I appreciate the staff and the hard work with the YMCA, I'm starting to see advertisements, and I think but for the hard work of everybody in our district that asset and resource would still be unavailable to the community. So I'm grateful for the hard work and the collaboration and the creativity to do the work that unfortunately, sometimes has challenges by other
045agencies. So I'm grateful for the partnership and look forward to more of that going forward. Thank you. Zesty Harper: I just want to say Happy Custodian day. I saw Mikey over at Mission Middle School today and got to say happy. He, right? It was really fun and it sounded like a lot of our sites did something special for their custodian, which the custodian, I mean, they do so much at the campus, I would not want to be on the end of that, his walkie talkie, at all. Which which the calls. I'm sure he gets on. They all get on a daily basis. So again, thank you to our custodians. I'm so glad we take time to celebrate them. He said he felt like it was almost Father's Day. He was really spoiled. It was great.
046So happy to hear that. I did a tour of Bernardo Elementary with the new principal, Mrs. Wrzeski. It was great to see everyone in the classes. And I just one class just blew me away. It was their special one of their special ed classes. It was filled to the max. It had 12 students in there. Every student was going in a different direction. But the teacher knew exactly what direction that was and exactly how to get them to where they need to be. And it was very impressive. I wanted to thank her so much for opening her classroom to me. All the classrooms obviously were great, and it was great to see the learning happening even in TK and in preschool. But it's always great to be on campus. I attended the lovely insurance committee.
047That's really my favorite highlight of anything I do here. I'm being sarcastic. Because I agree with you. These rates are beyond upsetting. They were upsetting last year and they were upsetting the year before that. And I feel like we're running through quicksand trying to work on them. I, I go home every time and my husband hears it of how frustrating it is because the the increase in rates, which what we are given to us, we have no control of. But it's still I don't understand how our employees are supposed to take that on, I understand. I, I, we all understand that. And so we're still working on it. I'm not giving up on it. I'm, you know, what other solutions we can find and work towards it. Because that you're right. It comes down to
048a lot. You know, it it that affects your decisions of whether or not to go to the doctor or whether or not to, you know, take your kids somewhere. It's really important. And and that's not lost on us. And I know we're in the middle of negotiations and I don't want to overstep our negotiations, but that's not exactly what you guys said. That's not lost on us of how it affects you at home. And with your family. And so we're not we're not giving up on it and we're not brushing it aside. It is really, really important to us. And the only way to get there is together with solving it. But again, those rates are very, very, very frustrating. And there is a couple resources that we talked about in that meeting. One is
049the Keegan website, and they're supposed to push that out to everyone that it has resources on there for either choices of your benefits to help you explain, help you understand what rate you know what if you want a PPO, if you want an HMO, what does that mean? What does a health savings account mean to me? Maybe look at some of those decisions. But also what other programs might be available to you, I think is how you would phrase it. Because I think that's important too. If you qualify for some other things, especially in this tight time, you might want to explore those options. So I know that's supposed to be pushed out, that you can go on there. And it's a great guide. And the same with the the phone calls you can make
050with the American Fidelity representatives to walk you through those questions as well. So I hope everyone takes the opportunity to really understand what you're choosing. And if that's working for you and it's working for your family and maybe an option you might not have thought of to again, try to make the best of this terrible, terrible, terrible situation. Sorry, I'm just super frustrated about about the rates. And then I attended the ribbon cutting at Escondido Charter High School for another project Next. If you recall, Escondido High School has a project project Next as well. So it's great that our students who are going up into the high school. They have a place to go for career and for college guidance that really helps them. So that was great to see. I also attended the PTA
051meeting, which is my favorite meeting. They always are a great bunch. It's a great turnout. Love to see the parent participation. They also started a new segment of their meeting, which was Ask Andy so they, they can submit questions and put him on the spot, which I hope they do. To get to know him and get to, you know, have their questions about the district answered. On to my second page. Sorry. I attended the DLAC meeting. I always love seeing the family liaisons and the principals. They're our family liaisons our rock stars, which we already know, but because there was also parents there, how they were working with the parents. So one of the presentations from Kathleen was about reclassification and kind of trying to demystify it and demystify, you know, just being classified. And
052a lot of parents might not want that for their children. But, I mean, they they made a really good point that our reclassified students, when they get reclassified, they are our highest scoring students in the district. They outperform every other group of students because they have those skills, because they have both languages that they can work with and use as a strength. And I think we need to promote that even more and really encourage them that that's not a bad thing. It's an amazing thing to have both languages and to and to be reclassified, to show that you understand both and can use them fluently. So one of the things they were able to do is now our Iready scores are on our schools, so parents can access all of the Iready data and their
053test scores of their students. And we actually sat with the parents and the family liaisons helped them pull up their students power school. Show them how to navigate it. Kind of show them how to explain it. So I hope that gets pushed out as well. That everyone now has access to that and can see the progress and talk to their students about setting goals and everything like that. I'm almost done. I attended the the same with Joan for the dedication. For Tamara at Mission with the bench. It was very beautiful. And it was yellow everywhere, and I, I was when I walked back from the parking lot, a yellow butterfly flew past me, so I there it was great. And the one thing I loved is that they said her bench would be right where
054her desk would have been and where she would have been sitting if if her room was there. So I think that's a very special place, and I appreciate the school and the district putting effort into that to recognize all her dedication and commitment to this district. And then again, thanks CSEA for a great communication meeting. But again I know we're in negotiations and I know tensions are high, but if we need to just keep talking and keep communicating because we're in this together, we're going to have enough outside challenges that we need to work together to make that, you know, to make our future bright for our students. Because you guys, do. You guys come here every day. You chose EUSD to be here. And we do recognize that. And we thank you for that.
055All right. Thanks. Doug Paulson: Just going to echo what the sentiment of all the speakers and, Miss Harper, the insurance rates, the insurance rate increases are shocking. 30, 40% increase from last year to this year. It's very difficult to believe. Like many of you here, when I started teaching in the high school district, it was a $5 co-pay, no cost. Where we're at now [sigh]. When we talk about classified salaries, it hits very close to my my, my heart and my life. Growing up on with a single parent mother who was one of the first instructional aides in the district, and that was all the money we had, we made a choice between her getting insurance and eating. That was the choice. And those are the choices that our families, with our current salary schedule
056and the cost of health care. Those are the kinds of choices that our families, our employees are going to be making. It, I, in my own home. My my wife works in healthcare and she's been giving me a tirade of lessons on the health care situation, not just in our district, not just in California, but nationwide. And it's difficult. I understand, I know that many, many of our classified staff are eligible for Medi-Cal and could could we just get a quick explanation of what Keenan is doing to assist those those individuals? Audrey Frank: Yeah. Keenan. Yeah. Keenan at the insurance community talked about that. They have a free service that individuals who qualify for Medi-Cal can get to, and they're going to push that out so they can meet with them and ascertain any subsidies
057they would be entitled to and that which would be much less cost for them. So when we get that, we will push that out to all. Doug Paulson: Thank you. And it it's just it's shocking to me that we're sitting here even talking about the fact that our full time employees may need to get on Medi-Cal to get a better deal than what we can offer. It's painful. And here we are. I want to thank all of the employee groups, the unions, and everybody who's in the classrooms. I know how difficult it is. It is. And it is appreciated by our community, by us, by everybody. Thank you for everything you do. Doctor Ibarra. Dr. Luis Ibarra: I just want to thank everybody for coming out. I just want you to know we hear you
058and and we see you. And I also wanted to just acknowledge Tamara Whitney for the legacy she leaves behind. I mean, it was a beautiful dedication this afternoon, and I just want to thank the all the teachers and staff at Mission for making that a very special occasion. So thank you. Andrew McGuire: Though Zesty already mentioned it, today is Custodians Day. And I do want to appreciate them as well. But also I know that's something that everybody in this room agrees with, given the tremendous effort that our teachers put into preparing their classrooms for the summer so that it made the job of our custodians so much easier, every one of them shared their appreciation for that over the summer as I visited with them. And so I wanted to extend that thank you on
059their behalf, on all of our behalf, for everybody coming together to work together to make at least that part of the work that much easier and more effective for everyone to do. So thank you. Audrey Frank: And I wanted to use, because a couple of weeks ago we approved our new classified director. And he has he begun on Monday. So I would like to introduce William, Bill, Dowler. And I just thought he could come up and just introduce himself a little bit. It has been a great couple of days. He's jumping right in and very excited to have him. Bill Dowler: Thank you very much. Good evening members of the board and cabinet. Better. How's that? Okay. So I am Bill Dowler, and I want to thank you for the appointment at the last meeting.
060It is my honor and privilege to come and do the great work of the Personnel Commission and to further the merit principles in this district. More so than probably anywhere else I've worked, because this is my home district. I grew up here, and I went. I'm a proud graduate of Glenview Elementary and Hidden Valley Middle School. So again. Yeah, right. So to get to come and do the work that I do in my home district is both an honor and a privilege. It is day four, and I am pleased to pleased to say that I am also joining an amazing group of staff members and colleagues. I look forward to working with my union partners here to move things forward. But there are some really amazing things going on in the HR department around P3
061and the residency program and things like that. So these things aren't happening in other districts. So to get to come here and help make those things even better is truly an honor and privilege. Thank you. Doug Paulson: Oh. Hold on. What high school? Bill Dowler: Orange Glen. Doug Paulson: Yeah! That was the answer. Bill Dowler: That's the answer, right. Thank you very much. Doug Paulson: All right. I do need to go back for a second. The Escondido Education Foundation wants to make sure everybody knows that they have their Height of Fashion show this coming Saturday, October 4th, 2 p.m. at Trinity Church. And tickets are still on sale. And the emcee has a scratchy throat, so I'm kind of worried about that guy. Alright, our next meeting is a board study session which will be
062held on Tuesday, October 21st, 2025 at 6 p.m. Next regularly scheduled board meeting will be held on Thursday, November 6th, 2025 at 7 p.m. at the Escondido Union School District. Carilyn Gilbert Education Center, 2310 Alder Grove Avenue, Escondido, California, 92029. We are going to be returning to closed session. There will be no report after that brief meeting. Have a great night, everybody.