001Mhm. >> Mhm. >> Good afternoon. I call to order the special board meeting May the 20th, 2026, 4:00 p.m. Roll call. Mr. Mark Anderson. Here. Mr. Harry Brown. >> Present. Mr. Bruce Kendrick. Present. Mr. Jack Turner. Present. >> And Lilly Campbell. All five board members are present and accounted for. Thank you so much for being here. Do we have public comments regarding items to be discussed in closed session? We do not have public comment for this section. No public comments for closed session. We will be uh adjourning shortly to go into closed sessions. And the items for closed session are in >> So, at this time we will leave the closed session. Thank you. >> Mhm. >> [music] >> Mhm. >> [music] >> Mhm. >> [music] [music] >> Mhm. >> [music] >> Mhm. >> [music]
002>> Mhm. >> [music] [music] >> Mhm. >> [music] >> Mhm. >> It was taking information given to the board members. So we are reconvening regular board meeting. Do we have public comments regarding matters not on the agenda at this time? Madam Secretary. Um we have a combination. So if a person would like to speak now um in regards to resolution and silent team stuff. Okay. Miss Tara Jones. Thank you. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. My name is Tara Jones, principal of GCC Virtual Academy. I am here to speak to today's resolution for an independent investigation and audit and to set the record straight regarding GCC's knowledge of unlawful activity within the organization. My concern with the resolution is that it could be an attempt to avoid an AB 139 audit, which is needed to uncover the
003egregious violations of law I have reported. It is also an unnecessary expense since the superintendent is already well aware of the unlawful practices. On May 13th, 2026, the superintendent sent an email to all staff stating, quote, Gateway Community Charters has been made aware of an unverified complaint recently submitted to our authorizing districts and state agencies. End quote. But I made this I made Superintendent Sample aware on March 6th, 2025 when we met to go over these very serious issues. I had a follow-up meeting with him on March 19th, 2025 to discuss in greater detail. The superintendent and I then corresponded via email regarding my wish to file a formal complaint, which I did, resulting in additional meetings but no resolution. In fact, I have asked in writing on more than one occasion about the outcome
004of this investigation but I have not even received a response. I am also concerned about the portion of the resolution that states, quote, the board directs human resources to manage the collection of any additional information that the complaining parties might wish to submit relating to the allegations until such a time as an independent investigator is retained. End quote. That is problematic since under this superintendent, there is no response or resolution to any complaints reported to HR. In the same May 13th, 2026 email from Jason, he told staff, quote, If the media, attorneys, or anyone outside the organization contacts you about this matter, please refer them to the communication specialist. That keeps our response consistent and takes the pressure off you. End quote. But I ask, if we have nothing to hide, why are we being
005asked not to talk? On the issue of attendance fraud alone, GCC unlawfully accepted millions of dollars in fraudulent ADA over the years, all on the backs of our students. On the issue of mixing immunized and non-immunized students, despite GCC telling our authorizers in person and in writing that we do not do this, and despite my many protests to my supervisors, GCC Virtual Academy's graduation remains on the schedule combining students of mixed immunization statuses next week. There are many, many current and former staff who reached out to me after the May 12th board meeting who want to speak out on the violations of Ed Code in California law committed by GCC, and that number is growing every single day. We will not be silenced, we will not give up. So again, I beg, I implore this
006board to please call for an AB 139 extraordinary audit, and let the truth be known. Thank you for your comments. All right. We are now moving into our regular uh other items on the agenda. And that would be approve uh resolution 2025-2026-28 independent investigation. Um Superintendent, would you like to speak to that item? Yes, uh thank you, Madam President. Tonight, uh I'd like to bring into the room uh Ricardo Soto, who is our general counsel uh that has been appointed to um uh oversee this matter. So, uh with that being said, I'll step away from it, and I'll give it to Mr. Soto. Uh thank you, um Mr. Sample, and uh good evening, uh board and uh members of the public. Uh I am here just to kind of provide the background around the resolution.
007Um the resolution is um you know, for the board to adopt and to uh you know, set a clear pathway about how to move uh proactively in addressing the complaints uh and the allegations that were raised in in the complaint uh by the um complainant. Because um you know, Mr. Sample uh sits on the board of Fit Kids, um you know, there are some questions about whether Fit Kids can uh conduct uh a uh investigation and an audit of GCC in light of uh Mr. Sample's position. Um so, under this resolution, the board is being very clear about the fact that, you know, it's moving forward to try to preserve and gather any information to date uh that has been filed by the complainant concerning these allegations, uh and also to preserve any records related
008to the allegations um by GCC without altering them or deleting them in any way so that they could be available to for an independent auditor and an independent investigator to look into the allegations that have been asserted in the complaint. Um I think the important thing to also um you know, state is that the resolution you know, directs um me I'm a lawyer with over um you know, 30 years of experience having worked on uh you know, uh legal issues in California involving public agencies, um to you know, work with the authorizers uh and the San Mateo County Office of Education um to determine, you know, what is the most um effective um organization or agency to conduct an audit so that it can be independent, trustworthy, and credible. You know, whenever the information is
009provided to the the investigator and the auditor. In In addition, I mean, the the purpose of an independent audit and investigation is also to, you know, allay concerns of, you know, from the complainant and from any witness who may have information about the allegations that their information, their complaint will be treated seriously and looked at in depth to ensure that, you know, any non-compliance or violations of law are brought forward, you know, by an independent auditor and investigator. It doesn't foreclose the possibility that Fit Academy may conduct that audit, extraordinary extraordinary audit. It's just that there needs to be some engagement with the school with those staff members and the office of education and the authorizers to determine, you know, the appropriateness of that. And then lastly, I did want to say is that the
010resolution is very clear that, you know, retaliation is prohibited by law and will not be, you know, condoned or accepted by the board of the Gateway Community Charter. And then if anyone does feel like they're being retaliated as a as a result of the allegations that they brought forward or for any information related to the complaint or the allegations, that, you know, we we ask them to bring that to your attention, to my attention so that we can address those immediately. So, that's the purpose of this resolution so that, you know, the board can ensure that it is getting an independent audit and investigation into these allegations and is inviting information from witnesses or other individuals who have information uh so that uh you know we get all the information and to make a uh
011an appropriate determination based on the law and the facts. Board members, any comments or any questions and all that you have regarding the resolution? Anything? Hearing none, oops, I'm sorry. I I will entertain a motion. Move approval. Move approval. Second. All right. Any other discussions or questions? Hearing none, roll call. Mr. Mark Anderson. Yes. Mr. Harry Block. >> Yes. Mr. Bruce Mandrick. Yes. Mr. Jack Turner. Yes. Lilly Campbell. Yes. The resolution most the motion passes unanimously. Thank you so much, board members, for that. All right. Board comments, sorry. Any board comments? Anyone? Hearing none, none. Well, I just want to mention uh very quickly and Bruce and Harry were there. We attended the um end of the year activity last Thursday. Friday. Friday. Friday. Friday. Friday. And it was very well done. Thanks to everyone
012who participated and worked diligently to make it a success. I think it was enjoyed by all and it was fun. So, thank you. Thank you for your hard work and your dedication to GCCA. Any other comments anyone? Harry, Bruce, anything? No? All right. Well, Our next board meeting is going to be June 9th at 3:30 as well as June 16th. June 9th and 16th, so we have two board meetings. Um that they and that usually happens in June cuz we have to approve our LCAP and all of that. So. All right. Well, any other closing comments? You have something? No? Your mic is on. >> yes, I'm sorry, I do. Thank you, Madam President. Just wanted to once again share with the board as well as with our members of our public that Mr. Mangat
013will be continuing his service as a board member. We had a process that was open for 2 weeks and did not receive applicants, so at this time Mr. Mangat will continue his service. Okay. Well, hearing nothing or seeing nothing else, I will ask for a motion for adjournment. So moved. So moved. Do I get a second? Second. You have a second. All in favor? Aye. The ayes have it. Meetings adjourned. Thank you all for being here. Thank you. Oh, stop.