001All right, well, it is 7 p.m.. We're 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 Eduardo Lopez from Bear Valley. Raise your right hand over your heart. Ready? Begin. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you Eduardo. Roll call. All members are present. We do have a report out of closed session. Mr. Olson. Thank you, Mr. President. In closed session, the board considered potential litigation charges related to a claim number 2425-14 received on April 10th, 2025, and took action to reject any claim filed against the district by a vote
002of 5 to 0. That is reported at a closed session. Okay. Thank you very much. Moving on to approval of the agenda, does anybody have any changes to the agenda? I move approval. Second. Miss Harper moves Miss Gardner seconds. All in favor, please vote. And with that very appropriate music, the motion passes 5 to 0. Moving on to the approval of the minutes of the last meeting. Any changes or corrections? Motion. Second. Mr. Huston moves. Mr. Olson seconds. All in favor? Please vote. Motion passes 5 to 0. Moving on to recognitions. Doctor Philyaw. Yes. Well, once again, we are happy to have the opportunity to celebrate our students from across the district with our SE Awards or our Student Excellence Awards. So we're going to begin with honoring Bear Valley Middle School, and we have
003a highlight video to share. My name is Jason Wrzeski, principal of Bear Valley Middle School, where we are home of the Bears. And our motto is honor, pride, respect. And here are some things that make Bear Valley an awesome school. At Bear Valley Middle School, we strive to provide an education that allows all students to reach their unlimited potential by offering opportunities for leadership, creativity, and enrichment. The transition from elementary to middle school can feel overwhelming. But at Bear Valley. All right. And next, we'll invite up Principal Jason Wrzeski. Could I have Archer, Gabe and Eduardo come to the podium? All right. Good evening school board president Paulson, doctor Ibarra and cabinet. I'm Jason Wrzeski, principal at Bear Valley Middle School. Before we get started, I'd like to thank our families and staff that are
004that are in attendance this evening. Thank you for being here. The first student I'd like to recognize is Archer Christiansen. Archer is an exceptional sixth grade student whose character truly sets him apart. His positive attitude is infectious, creating a welcoming and uplifting, uplifting environment wherever he goes. Archer consistently leads by example and shows maturity maturity beyond years. He even takes time to thank his teachers at the end of every class. He inspires us all to be better, kinder, and more thoughtful every day. Congratulations, Archer. Next, I'd like to introduce Gabe Simon. When considering the Student Excellence Award, it's clear to both staff and students that Gabe is an ideal candidate. Gabe excels academically, but it is his maturity that truly reflects the strength of his character. Descriptions of Gabe often include words like amazing, the
005best student, mature, kind, well liked, and full of integrity. Yet these only begin to capture the exceptional qualities he embodies. He's the kind of student you'd want your own children to be friends with. Congratulations, Gabe. And last but not least, I'd like to recognize eighth grader Eduardo Lopez. Eduardo is admired by both students and staff for his many positive personality traits and scholarly behaviors. While he has maintained excellent grades this year, his GPA does not seem to be the end goal. He is curious, thoughtful, and inspired by the act of learning. Eduardo sets an example for his peers and rallies them to rise to the level of academic achievement. He has a vibrant spirit that radiates joy, positivity, and playfulness. Congratulations, Eduardo. And next we will be showcasing Felicita Elementary and they have a video
006as well. All right. We'll invite up Principal Higginbotham, please. Thank you. I just love that video. It always makes me tear at the end. At this time, I'd like to invite up Deleyza, Hector and Yaretzi. All right. Good evening, President Paulson, board members, doctor Ibarra, cabinet and Felicita staff and families. Woo hoo! Thank you so much for being here. I'm Stephanie Higginbotham, the proud principal of Felicita Elementary. And I am going to first be talking about Deleyza Guerrero Navarro. Deleyza has outstanding dedication to academic excellence and personal growth. She consistently goes above and beyond by taking the initiative to do extra work outside of school to improve her learning. She is a positive role model who follows school rules, actively participates in class, and brings an uplifting attitude every day. Her kindness and support toward
007her peers makes her a valued friend and an inspiration to those around them. Great job Deleyza. Next up we have Hector Solis Valenzuela. Hector is a kind and hardworking student who always supports his friends and treats others with respect. He never gives up showing great perseverance in academics through dedication and effort, he has made impressive improvements in his mathematics, proving that hard work pays off. His strong friendships and positive attitude make him a valued and trusted friend to all those around him. Good job Hector. An Yaretzi Morales Baltazar. Yaretzi is a natural leader who exemplifies kindness, unwavering integrity and excellence in everything she does. She is always courteous to both adults and peers, offering her support to anyone in need with genuine compassion and sincerity. As a dedicated member of her fifth grade leadership program,
008she goes above and beyond to support students with disabilities, showing unwavering love and respect for every individual. Not only does she exceed academic expectations with her creativity and articulate communication skills, but she also presents herself with dignity, earning the admiration of all who have the privilege of knowing her. She is a valued teammate of our girls on the run team, and is even inspiring her younger sister to follow in her footsteps. Yaretzi is an exceptional role model and a true representation of respect, responsibility, integrity and heart. Good job Yaretzi. All right. And next we're going to be highlighting Oak Hill Elementary. And we'll invite up Principal Madrigal. Carlos. Jeremiah. Melanie, please join me. Good evening, President Paulson. Members of the board, doctor Ibarra, members of cabinet, families and friends in the audience, and especially Oak
009Hill Otters. Today. My name is Carmen Madrigal, the principal of Oak Hill. And I have the privilege of introducing these three young people. Handsome and beautiful fifth graders. Carlos LinaresVillasenor. Carlos embodies all that makes Oak Hill a special place to work and learn. He excels in all academic areas, showing great skill with his writing and excellence in math. Carlos shows kindness and patience when working in groups, ensuring that the projects are completed and that everyone gets an opportunity to participate. Carlos is an excellent Oak Hill Otter and we are proud of you. Jeremiah Maria. Jeremiah is a thoughtful and respectful student who always brings curiosity and excitement to his class. He has a strong passion for learning, especially when it comes to the periodic table and major world conflicts. His questions and insights show a
010deep understanding far beyond his grade level. Jeremiah truly encompasses all aspects of the EUSD learner profile by being a compassionate, creative, and critical thinker. Oak Hill is proud to celebrate Jeremiah's love of learning and outstanding character. Melanie Martinez. Melanie has been an excellent Oak Hill Otter. She is an active member of the Otter News team this year. She helps to write, film and edit the weekly Otter news program. Academically, Melanie has already surpassed her stretch goals for I-ready. She exemplifies the code of conduct and is a role model to all Otters. Oak Hill is very proud of you. Alrighty, so we have more students to celebrate this evening. Tonight it is my great pleasure to recognize not one, but two exceptional groups of students who have represented our district and our community with their talent,
011dedication, perseverance and commitment. Both of these teams practiced, prepared and competed in two different dance competitions and they won. So tonight we are here to celebrate the achievement of each of these teams. We'll begin with a familiar one the Ignite Dance Team [applause]. We want to recognize the Ignite Dance team, led by coach Jennifer Robbins, for their outstanding performance at the USA Dance Nationals competition. These talented dancers delivered truly remarkable routines and brought home top honors, including first place in lyrical, second place in hip hop and second place in jazz. Their achievements are the result of countless hours of hard work, teamwork and passion for their art. So let's give them once again a round of applause for the Ignite Dance team. So we'll call up those students. Diana Crescencio. Cristina Escobedo. Kaylee Garcia. Vanessa
012Gonzalez. David Rivas Quintero. [names are being callee off camera and off mic] All right. And now, next, I'm honored to recognize another outstanding group of student performers. Please help me to congratulate the Bear Valley Dance team under the guidance of their dedicated coach, Regina Snew, for their incredible showing at the WCE Dance Team nationals. Let's give them a round of applause. The Bear Valley Dancers delivered a powerful and polished performances, earning first place in contemporary and second place in hip hop. Again, these results reflect the team's relentless commitment, creativity and unity. Their passion for dance and drive for excellence have brought pride to our entire school community. Let's give another big round of applause and we will call out the names. Ava Blakely. Ella Burdette. Kendall Chavez. Sariah Davis. Keeley Kroepel. Haven Palmquist. Ciara Shaffer.
013Melanie Shaffer. Autumn VanLeeuwen . And Layla Wilson. Congratulations. If we can invite up the coach for some pictures. All right. Well, thank you all so very much for coming out tonight. Congratulations to all of the student honorees. Thank you so much to all the staff and families that came out to honor our students, whether it be for academics, overall excellence or excellence in dance. Thank you all. We are now going to take a five minute, break so that everybody can make their escape and take additional pictures. I'm the principal at the Classical Academy, Bear Valley, we also call ourselves the Bears, and we're right across the street from Bear Valley Middle School. We serve students TK through eighth grade, and we just want to come tonight and thank you all for your support over the
014last 26 years. I'll be retiring at the end of this year. Winnie Moen will be taking over for me as principal, so I made her come tonight too. And we love when Doctor Ibarra and Doctor Philyaw come visit. And we actually have a student that's going to speak right after me. But we have a couple of our art students that have a gift for the board members, if you would be interested and allow them to come give that to you. And we just thank you for your support and look forward to another 26 years with you. Thank you. Oh. Isn't that adorable? Thank you. Oh, and they were some of the students that made these coasters. And they also have some pictures that they're showing you that our student Noah is going to talk about
015in a minute. Thank you. Thank you very much. All right. Well, thank you so much. Next up is Noah First. Hello there. Is it working? Firstly, thank you for allowing me to present here at this board meeting. My name is Noah and I am part of the community environment class at the Classical Academy, Bear Valley campus. We as the Classical Academy staff and students, thank you for your support you provide to our school and charter. Now, our Community Environment classes objective is to help bring improvements to the community and the environment by doing small projects, and I will now share an example of what we have been doing in our class. For our most recent project, we wanted to help the community at and around our school, so we decided on installing a little free
016library. Do, are you all aware on what that is? Okay. Our objective of putting a little free library in the school neighborhood would help bring together the community as well as students, and could potentially promote more literacy and reading. Since our community environment class was working on the library, we had to take several steps in the making of the library. We began by creating a mock up using cardboard, mapping out a budget, and establishing precise measurements. Since we wanted the library to be long lasting, we carefully selected durable materials such as wood, wood stain, nails, and other essentials to ensure that it would stay permanent. Afterwards, we presented our proposal to the school principals for approval and also managed to receive some help from woodshop teacher at our sister high school and from a local
017woodworker who is a friend of Mrs. Hamilton our teacher. They generously donated materials and assisted us in the assembling of the library. Through their help, we were able to accomplish creating the library. I believe that this little free library project has been a great experience for my classmates and I. And finally, I hope that this class will continue to be offered at the students at the Classical Academy in the coming years. Thank you for listening to my presentation and for your time. We as a class are grateful for your ongoing support, and we look forward to seeing this project continue to benefit our community and others. Thank you very much, Noah. Thank you. Next up, Kathy Hamilton. Hello. I'm Kathy Hamilton, 11148 Arco Drive. And I just wanted to kind of come in behind Noah,
018my student, and I wanted to thank the board members for supporting Classical Academy and our charter schools in Escondido and all of our schools. And I'm super excited to see all of the arts that are continuing and growing in the school district. As you know, I've been a huge advocate for the arts over the years, and I've been fortunate enough to be blessed and rewarded by having a paid job at the classical academies for the last 15 years. And so I can live my passion through teaching art, which I really, really appreciate. And this is my last year at Classical Academy, so sadly, I will be retiring from that now. And you'll probably see me at some of your schools continuing to volunteer from time to time. So thank you so much for all of
019your support. I really appreciate it. Thank you very much. Next up is Patty Kamholz. My crowd. Technology. School board, cabinet members of the community and members on zoom. We are here today to express our sincere gratitude and admiration for the educational and dedication, educational leadership, and dedication of our principal, Crystal Underhill. Under her guidance, our school community has thrived, and I believe it is crucial to acknowledge and commend her contributions publicly. We know a couple of these items are due to Covid restrictions being relaxed, but Crystal has gone above and beyond to welcome families to not only volunteer in the classrooms, but participate in a variety of school wide events. To begin with, Mrs. Underhill has a willingness to listen to parent concerns and take a proactive approach to addressing any issues. We all appreciate
020her dedication to fostering a strong sense of community within the school. She has a wonderful relationship with our foundation, which has made our foundation the strongest it has ever been. As teachers, parents, as teachers, we have been particularly grateful for her commitment to include teachers in a very in the various support programs such as PBIS, SST and CSAT. Not only does she include us in the meetings, but values our voice. She appreciates the staff's hard work, which makes us want to work harder for her. She doesn't ask us to do anything she isn't willing to do herself. Finally, Mrs. Underhill is not afraid to do what is right when it comes to our students safety. It can be an uncomfortable and unfortunately confrontational not to let parents come on campus during school hours, except through
021the school office. We feel very safe, very safe with our gates and our cameras. And no, she prioritizes safety and has created a more secure and positive learning environment for all. We feel very blessed to have such an amazing principal at LR Green, and are incredibly grateful for her efforts and dedication. Because of time constraints, I talk a lot, we're, because of time constraints, we are limiting the vast number of examples of her excellence. We wanted to let you know to look forward to a letter with more details of the wonderful things happening at LR Green, under Crystal Underhill's leadership. Respectfully, our TK team. Team TK, also known as the Dream Team. Jen Quis and Cindy Vaithianathan. So thank you for your time. Thank you. Next up is Maria Valenzuela. Hello board members, M r.
022Ibarra, I talked to you on Fridays, on Sundays. But now I'm here to talk to you. So you can listen to my voice. Because I know yours. I am here because I am a parent. I have two children and L.R. Green. I am currently volunteering as much as I possibly can and working with the teachers, and I came to stress how I am so thankful and appreciative of all the teachers, the staff, Mrs. Underhill and I really think that our kids are safe. But not only are they safe, they're also being inspired. And I say that because my daughter has just joined Girls on the Run. Some of the parents here were there are also participating and I cannot stress enough to you how she her whole attitude, her whole perception of what she can
023do has changed and that has been brought forward with the school and with the teachers. And coincidentally enough, my junior that's in San Pasqual right now really loved a teacher in LR Green. And sure enough, this is the same teacher that has teamed up with our PE coaches, and he is the one that's encouraging all our young girls along with the coaches. And he has continuously helped both all three of my kids now because my middle child is also in his classroom, coincidentally enough again. And they are all thriving and they're exciting. They're excited to be there. And as a mom, I cannot thank teachers enough. And that's the reason I volunteer, because I want to get to know them, and I want them to know that they have my full support. So with that
024said, I hope that you as board members and Doctor Ibarra can really see that in our school we really are fostering a nurturing, positive environment for all the kids. And thank you. I appreciate your time. Thank you. Next up is Ashley McCartney. Thank you for having me. Even though, honestly, I would much rather be in bed. It's not that I don't find you all riveting. But I am fortunate enough to attend a school that I believe in and trust. It's a school that I'm so confident in. I'm allowed to focus on being a parent and I let the professionals do their job. My family has been at L.R. Green for four years now, and although I work full time, I have a flexible schedule that allows me to volunteer and get to know not just
025my children's teachers, but a good portion of the teachers, administrators, and staff. I attend as many events as possible, from back to school night to open house trunk or treat everything in between. In addition to that, I use what small amount of free time I have to volunteer in the classroom and attend foundation meetings. While I like giving back, I'll be honest, it's selfish. I want to know what's going on at my children's school. Sending your child into the world. You assume a certain level of risk. Rather, it is a play date or school or sporting events. And in order for me to determine that the risk is outweighed by the reward, I want to know the adults involved. The first person I truly got to know at L.R. Green was my daughter's kinder teacher,
026Mrs. Kamholz. And I liked her right away. After a short while, after a short while, I trusted her with my whole heart. Because, as you know, our children are our hearts outside our bodies. And I trusted her and respected her. And like any good long term relationship, eventually turned to love because I truly love her and everything she does and stands for. But the amazing thing is, Patty is not the exception. I feel that way about everybody on that campus. Every teacher my children have had are completely invested. They put their heart and soul into my children every day. And that extends beyond the teachers. It goes to the staff, the people that play music. When my kids walk through with a bad attitude, Mostly the girl. It's it's everyone. Recently, we had our first
027pie night at L.R. Green. It was a math event. We had a book reading. Mathnasium was there. We had a pie baking contest. I bring this up because there were a lot of pie entries, and that required a lot of judges. Our judges included Mrs. Underhill, front office staff, their adult children, janitors, teachers. And I know that may sound fun, but it was over 30 pies and not every pie was great. And that's okay, because they had to score the pie using the obnoxiously long scorecard that I created. But most importantly, it was fun and the kids loved it. Miss Kamholz is one of a team of wonderful teachers, admin, and staff. Pie night was one event of amazing events and until recently, I never felt the need to come here publicly and tell you
028that. Standing up here pontificating is not something I actually enjoy. I'm not looking for notoriety on zoom or TikTok. I just want to send my kids to school, trust that they're safe, and go home. But I did need you to know that the majority of us love our school. We feel safe at our school, and we're incredibly lucky to be part of this family. Thank you. Thank you. And we will make sure to continue our riveting performance here tonight [laughter]. Noemi, you're going to need to make it riveting. So just not yet, though. Not yet. All right. That closes item E one. Public comments. Public comments. Thank you all for coming out tonight. We are now going to open up a public hearing on the the sunshine negotiation proposal. Ksi but first, and I believe
029this goes first. We do have a public comment on that article. So if I could please call up Josh Stephens. Honorable board members, Superintendent Ibarra, district leaders, fellow CSEA members and community guests. Thank you for your time this evening. My name is Josh Stephens, and I'm a proud member of CSEA Chapter 150. As we sunshine the articles we wish to bargain this year, I'm here to champion one article, one addition to article four. A clear, flexible, remote work policy for classified positions where it is operationally sound and beneficial. For more than 15 years, I've helped keep our district's digital infrastructure running. Internet and phones, student data security systems and 24 /7 on call rotations. I love that mission. And much of it can be done securely from any location with a reliable internet connection. I'm
030not alone. I wrote a report on the feasibility of benefits of the benefits of flexible work and 50 district office colleagues, nearly every employee in the building, every classified employee in the building signed on. A formal policy would ensure continuity. Car trouble or a closed highway shouldn't take a staff member off line when remote access keeps students learning and offices running. Formal policy promotes equity. Today, remote work hinges on the discretion of individual supervisors. Written guidelines treat everyone fairly. A formal policy could boost recruitment and retention. Surrounding agencies already advertise flexible work. We should compete on the same field where operationally feasible. And finally, a formal policy will improve well-being and focus. Fewer commutes means more time and energy devoted to the district's goals. We recognize that not every role: custodial, food, service, transportation can
031work off site, and we fully support providing those teams everything they need on site for their well-being. We truly appreciate all of our brothers and sisters support in voting for these negotiations. Flexibility, where it makes sense, complements, not conflicts with our collective strength. Tonight, I respectfully ask the board to support our negotiations team in adding a well defined, flexible work provision to article four. It's modern, fiscally prudent, and consistent with our mission to serve students first. Thank you for your consideration. Thank you. CSEA, you have your full sunshine proposal. Thank you very much. Good evening, President Paulson. Board members. Doctor Ibarra and cabinet. The California School Employees Association and its Escondido Elementary chapter 150 looks forward to negotiating with Escondido Union School District for the contract reopening of the collective bargaining agreement. CSEA proposes to
032negotiate with the district to reach fair and equitable changes to the following articles. Article six: hours and overtime. Article eight: salary. Article nine: health and welfare benefits. Article 20: permit teachers . CSEA's approach to negotiations will be guided by our mission statement to improve the lives of our members, students and community. We are committed to bargaining in good faith and working towards a fair and mutually beneficial agreement. I would also like to take this moment to announce the members of our negotiations team. First we have Julie Collins, Gisela Medina, Tracy Gregor, Marquette Taylor, and myself as the lead negotiator. Thank you for your time and continued support as we move forward. Thank you very much. And we are now going to close that public hearing. And move on to a report from CSEA, chapter 150.
033Hello everyone. Thank you so much. It's always so good to see you all. And I know I made a presence today, I arrived. But I came here to support our members and to speak on their behalf and make sure that they feel supported in every aspect that they do. Right? We've come to the understanding that our classifications are all very different. They all have different calendars. They all have different schedules. They work all different kinds of hours. And we're not an easy group to work with. As we have shown. Not that we're difficult. It's more that our schedules are so special. HR, we have to agree, right? The calendars. So I just want to make sure that, you know, that we appreciate everything that you do for us, that you continue to support us and
034guide us. And Doctor Ibarra, everything that you do. And I am very sad that, you know, he's not going to be here for very long, but I did promise him that we'd finish out the years together. So we're going to. We're, you know, we're working through. Right. So thank you so much again. And we look forward to bargaining again with all of you. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. And you all are very much appreciated no matter what your classification is. And speaking of appreciated people, Escondido Elementary Education Association during the week of the teacher. Thank you President Paulson and happy Teacher Appreciation Week to all my peeps out there. Nicely done. Good evening, President Paulson, school board members, doctor Ibarra and cabinet. First off, happy teacher appreciation week to all of our teachers. Your dedication
035to our students is evident each and every day. Today I have the honor of visiting both Hidden Valley Middle School and Farr elementary to experience their community schools transition. To say that I was blown away was an understatement. I've never missed the classroom more than I did today. Doctor Norton and Miss de Santiago have implemented numerous amazing programs that are community based, inclusive, and create an environment that is welcoming for our students and our families. The MTSS specialist, family liaisons, social workers, counselors and staff aren't just coming to work, doing a job and leaving. What I saw today was love, passion, devotion, and an exclusiveness that makes school a home, not just an institution of learning. I miss my Hidden Valley family very, very much. I taught there for 21 years, and the Hidden Valley
036I left is not the Hidden Valley I saw today. I was full of emotion and began to ask how I could ever leave the classroom. Inclusivity, respect, independence, love, and perseverance were the themes I saw today. Farr Elementary's greeting was welcoming, warm and it blew me away. Miss de Santiago was kind enough to send me the video of my entrance, where we were greeted by the Farr Falcons leadership team. The Community Schools team at Farr truly love what they do. Both sites today showcase their student centered transitions and again, I was blown away. This made me feel extremely validated in EEEA' s mission to be collaborative with USD to do what is best for our kids. Traditionally, unions and school district draw lines in the sand, which can lead to adversarial relationships. It's funny I
037say that as I'm laughing. Thanks, Patty. That practice leads us away from a student centered approach, which goes against why we're all here. As we move, as we move forward, let Hidden Valley and Farr be examples as to how we put students first. Egos, pride, dismissiveness of ideas, and a lack of vision aren't welcome here. We need to continue to listen, respect each other and move past our roles and differences to achieve our ultimate goal to create a safe, caring and inclusive environment for all of our students, our staff, and our community. And I want you guys to all know that the things that I've seen at these sites lately as I've been visiting is absolutely incredible. The teachers continue to persevere through exhaustion and everything else they do, to make sure that they're providing
038the best education they can for our kids and teachers come to these board meetings because they love our students and they love our district. So when we think about Teacher Appreciation Week and even staff appreciation, it should be 365 days a year, not just one week and not just one day. So thank you so much, you guys, for everything. All right. All written communications have been distributed to all board members. Moving on to item F, do we have any items in the consent agenda that anyone would like to pull for separate consideration? I move approval of the consent agenda items Second. Miss Harper moves. Miss Gardner seconds. All in favor? Please vote. Please vote whether you're in favor or not. And the motion passes 5 to 0. Can you tell we're trying to get through
039before the words start to that song? Moving on to item N1, we are in discussion and or action human resources job descriptions. I am seeking approval of the revised Community Schools Coordinator job description. Any questions? I move approval. Second. Miss Harper moves, Mr. Olson, seconds. Please vote. And motion is approved. 5 to 0. Moving on to item N two, miss Frank. I'm looking for seeking approval for one additional reduced workload agreement for the 25-26 school year. Motion to approve. Motion to approve as presented. Second. Mr. Olson moves. Mr. Huston seconds. Please vote. You're missing the riveting part [laughter]. Motion passes 5 to 0. Moving on. Item N3. Superintendent's office. So in the previous in a previous board meeting, we brought forward the superintendent's contract. But there was a discrepancy in the dollar amounts. And so
040this is to amend that contract that was approved to have the correct dollar amounts. And so on the April 3rd meeting, the board approved an amendment to the contract for the superintendent. The current amendment corrects an error in the salary increase, effective July 1st, 2024. The board wishes to make the following contract adjustments a salary increase effective July 1st, 2024, of 0.62% for a base salary of $290,110, and all the other terms and conditions remain the same. I move approval. Second. Miss Harper moves, Miss Gardner. Seconds. Please vote. Motion passes 5 to 0. And moving on to board member and president reports. Miss Gardner. Oh. Yeah. I'm still getting used to being always having to be the first one. Actually, since the last meeting I represented along with the Miss Harper, the the board at
041our health insurance committee meeting, and we have another one coming up next week, I think. Oh, really? I thought so. I don't have my calendar up right now. No. Two weeks? Oh okay. You got it. You got a week's reprieve. And I also attended the the latest, and, I guess the last of this year Gate committee, parents committee meeting. And happy teacher appreciation week to our teachers, our hard working teachers who we entrust our children to every day and wish them continued success. I'm done. Thank you very much. Mr. Huston. I have no report. Mr. Olson. Just quickly, I just want to say thanks to all the teachers out there. I know there's a National Teacher Day, but seems insignificant for all the work that they do. So thank you to all the teachers, as
042well as those who spend time in classrooms, whether they're volunteers or paraeducators or anybody that helped to shape the future generations of our kids. We really appreciate it. Thank you. All right. I, I attended a tour of the Step Beyond program over at the California Center for the Arts. They have a fantastic program over there, so it's really nice to see it. They also have a great and I'm sorry, the LR Green left, but for the RIASAC program, they have two different labs where you can actually they have it set up to try to work with possible careers in the future. And so I thought that was a really interesting setup that they have. I attended the collaboration times with the fifth and fourth grade at Central Elementary, which was really fun. And they were
043talking about their micro schools and all the good work they're doing there, and how they are focusing on being a part of that community and bringing the community in to campus and working with the community. So I thought that was a great focus they have. I also attended a couple days of the kidnaping practice at Pioneer. I can't believe I'm saying those words, but it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be for the students. They they they. Officer Al Owens did a great job, as usual, of preparing them and the way it was set up by the school to have them come out they would walk along the parking lot, and. I think they are going to do it for more schools. And they they would have the unmarked police cars from the
044police would try to come up and try to get the kids into their cars. And it was a lot easier than I didn't like that. But I think they it was a great practice to really run through it with the students. And it it really wasn't as traumatizing as a mom in my head. I thought it would be. So I think it was great. And I think I hope we expand it to all the other schools to really just give them the opportunity to think about what would they do? I mean, Officer Al Owens would be right there saying, hey, if anyone approaches you, turn around and run back to me. And they still would stand there. So it was it was, it was it's a good run through and get them used to just
045run away. You can be rude. You don't have to be polite to people. You can just run away. I have to make a comment because. What did we talk about at the at the Gate meeting about the anxiety generation? Yeah. And why kids are so anxious and and it's not like well, this is one of the reasons. And I know times are different now, but parents are so worried about their children and they're instilling that worry into the the young kids. And they have to because we've had incidents we've had incidents in Escondido. But that's that's part of the the whole psyche now the, the the anxiousness. Right. And I hope you know them role playing, it kind of lessens that so they know they're prepared to what to do with that if they're. Because
046I think anxious, you know, you're not knowing what's going to happen or how to handle it. And so I think giving them that opportunity was beneficial. All the... But now they're waiting for it to happen. It's like... I don't think so. But you know, I understand what you're saying. I was worried as a mom. Like what? Yeah. You know, what are what's going to happen. But I think it was really well run. I think Al... I know it has to be done, but it just... I know it's sad. ...makes me sad. Yes. It makes me very sad. Exactly. But again, same with the you know, with the school shooter training, you just you want to have them have thoughts in their heads of what they would do if they were, you know, approached or have
047to deal with that situation. And I think we're trying to do our best job to prepare them for an ugly world. You know. Maybe we should just take the people who perpetrate that ugliness off the streets. That would be good, too. So again, thank you to Al Owens for putting helping us with that. I attended the insurance committee meeting. And then I also attended the rotary Service Above Self Awards at Bear Valley which is a great huge turnout because it included schools from our district and several of the private schools as well were there receiving and San Pasqual Union. So it was great to see everyone there. And of course, I'll echo what the board said, that the teacher appreciation week. I mean, it's definitely not a week. We couldn't do without the teachers. I
048appreciate LR Green coming here and speaking that. And the parents. That says a lot about a campus when you have people so passionate about what's going on and feel so safe to, to send their students to school, that's important. Thank you. Okay. Well, just to pick up on the personal safety program that was done at Pioneer, I was able to attend the first day the lecture. And I will say that the Escondido Police Department and Officer Owens, who is both of Police Athletic League rotary after five and working in that situation with the police department, did an excellent job that should be reducing anxiety among the children because knowledge reduces anxiety. I do believe that there is a plan and intention to move this to all schools in the district. I think that will be
049extremely important. It was a huge manpower commitment on the part of the police department. So they certainly will not be able to do it each year, but possibly in a three year rotation, I think is what Lieutenant Owens is currently looking at. So several schools each year so that we get through all of them over a three year period and then start the cycle again. Because, you know, and the good thing was, he was training one of our SROs on how to give the initial presentation, because that's a really important part, is that the kids hear about it and then practice it on a following day. And yes, they don't always get it right, but that's because they've got adults telling them to do one thing and another adult telling them to do another. And
050that's confusing for kids, and that's part of the problem. And that's one of the things we need to help them work through. So thank you. Not just to Al Owens, but to the entire police department for that. Want to point out I attended Special Education Council extremely well run, very good. Information and and an input session. I just really want to call out during this week of the teacher. I really want to call out our special education teachers and paraeducators and everybody involved in our special education program. So many districts across this state, across the nation, across throughout the world, are absolutely struggling and have no idea what to do in special education. And so they wind up doing the one thing that's predictable, which is compliance. And compliance is not always the it's a
051good thing, but it's not the only thing involved in special education. I think our special education department in this district, having had a child go through it, I think our special education program gets it right more times than probably any other district. I think we are an exemplar in the county and in the state. And so I just I just want to call out everybody involved in our special education program. I will agree with Brandi. Teacher Appreciation Day should not be a day, not a week. It's all the time. And I know it is for every parent, every community member in this city. I certainly appreciate as a teacher, I certainly appreciate getting donuts each day during Teacher Appreciation Week or whatever it is. But I don't think we can say enough about all of
052our teachers and how much they are appreciated. I, I do want to bring up one item. Well, I want to bring up something because Zesty told me I have to, which is happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. I also remembered that I have a mother. So happy Mother's Day to all mothers. We I have on a whole different topic, been hearing a rumor from a few sources regarding Doctor Ibarra's retirement and the possibility. There is some idea there may be some sort of early retirement incentive, sometimes called a golden handshake. I'm just wondering if any of our cabinet or cabinet members can respond to that rumor. There is no plan whatsoever for any early retirement incentive or golden handshake in the coming years. Okay. And so I, I just hope that it
053is clear to anyone who's listening we do have a large number of students or of teachers. Who are experienced and incredibly valuable. So there is no intention of doing a a early retirement incentive at this time. All right. Comments from cabinet. All right. So again it is appreciation season. So happy teacher appreciation week. And to our teachers truly. Brandi, you said it best. You get wowed. I get wowed every time I go into a classroom at every one of our schools. There's just so many amazing things. So the work that they do is really noticeable. So thank you to all our teachers. We also have Classified Employees Appreciation Week coming up. And again, we couldn't do it without our classified employees each and every day. Everyone just contributes to the whole education of the of
054the the whole child. So thank you to everyone and thank you to the board. So we had boss's day coming up and so or past. So thank you to the board and just everyone. So thank you. Say with Mother's Day coming up, I was raised by a teacher, my mom, and I'm the mother of my children, and my wife is also a teacher. And of course, in teacher appreciation, we can then the fortunate. I'm so fortunate to be able to visit so many of our classrooms and our teachers. And I just want to say thank you for the future that you are all creating. All right. Well, thank you very much. If there is nothing else, the next regularly scheduled board meeting will be held on Thursday, May 22nd, 2025 at 7 p.m. at the
055Escondido Union School District. Carolyn Gilbert Education Center, 2310 Aldergrove Avenue, Escondido, California, 92029. And we are adjourned.