MUSD Board of Education Regular Meeting March 11, 2025

001Meeting back in session at six 13. We'll start off with Vicky Diver has been a dedicated bus driver from Morongo Unified School District for 35 years. Throughout her time, serving schools in 29 Palm to safely transport countless students to and from school, earning the trust and appreciation of the community. Her commitment to student safety and wellbeing was recognized multiple times that several principals honored her as driver of the year, loved by students, parents, and staff alike. Vicky's impact has been, in February, she transitioned to a new role as a bus monitor, continuing her service to the district in a new capacity. Unifying extends its heartfelt gratitude to Mrs. Diver for 35 years of outstanding service as a bus driver. Everybody stand for the pledge Allegiance. Pledge Allegiance is to flag of the United States of

002America. Thank Republic for stands. My nation under God. Liberty. Excuse me. Vicky, could you hold it up just a minute. I'd just like to let everybody know Vicky was one, one of my mothers, probably back in fifth and sixth grade at Condor Elementary School. Sure. Appreciated her. Thank you very much. Thank you Pete. You're now going to ask for a moment of silence. Let's take a moment of silence and honor of Eugene and Rupert, who dedicated nine years to our district, beginning as instructional assistant at KTES and later serving at La Yucca Valley High School. BlackRock Laga Yucca Mesa. Before concluding her career as a special circumstance instructional aide, her dedication and impact on students' lives will be forever remembered. Thank you. As for a motion for the adoption of agenda for March 11th, 2025,

003meeting. So moved. Move by is second by Pete. All in favor? All. Yes. I'm sorry. Before we adopt it, I, I would like to bring up three things in the items for review up into the consent agenda. Um, novel for George Washington Socks novel Blood on the River, Jamestown novel for the last fifth grade. I wanna hurry and I'm hoping the board would agree that we vote on these books, skip these books in the classroom. If we wait, it'll go through this month, then April and then June we would approve them and the kids wouldn't get 'em in their hands. So can we pull that up and vote on that with, or make that change to the First review? The final review? Yes. To bring it into the adopt you before we adopt the, the

004agenda. Bring that up. Yeah, I think That's fine. That's fine. Okay. Thank you. Do we have a motion? All in favor? Aye. Oh yeah. Excuse me. As amended, I Think we have like 4.3 so far. Okay. Five zero as amen. All unless asking for an induction. The minutes for the February 11th, 2025. Second. And then the, um, Yeah. Any questions? The, um, the minutes for the February 11th regular meeting did not include the discussion, uh, about the, uh, the, uh, the board policies for the temporary athletic team coaches and the, um, how we were gonna revise those policies. So I would like to approve the minutes and to include that that was spoken of and that there would be a correction to the policies there. Edit to the policies. Okay. That's fair. Okay, Stacy? Yeah,

005Just as I recall, there was a discussion about the, those policies at the last board meeting. And we noted that the information on the a ED that was being asked for specifically was in the, um, ar. And the direction I was given was to provide during the, to the board, both for the AR and the board policy side by side to determine whether or not an edit needed to be made to the actual board policy, which could have been done or if the ar, um, was enough for that. 'cause they're both, um, on online in the public. And, um, that was done. Um, I sent those to Maria to forward them onto you and I did not get any direction to make any provisions. So I just really want to clarify that what you see

006on the for approval does not have revisions. 'cause I didn't get direction to make a revision to add the AR to the court policy. So I just wanna make sure that that's, that's, that's noted. Okay. So can we, and then can we minutes for the February 11th meeting to conclude that there was a discussion about the policies that Got it. Okay. I get a motion for the February 11th, 2025 report meeting. We did. Second. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Five zero. You Also need approval for the February 12th special board meeting study session. A motion. All in favor A aye Aye. Five zero February 25th, 2025. Court study session. Approve the minutes. So Seconda and P All in favor? Aye. Aye. Zero. Thank you. Actions from resulting from the closed section. It resolved that pursuant

007to education code section 4 4 9 2 9 2 1. The following probationary certificate employee shall be, I apologize. We actually have a comment pertain one items that would be from Carlos. Is Carlos in attendance? No. Alright. Thank you. The resolve that pursuant to education code section 4 4 9 2 9 0.1. The following probation certificated employee shall be, shall not be re-employed for the 20 25, 20 26 school year and the superintendent for board debt. His designate is directed to give written notice, therefore is required by law. And these involve an employee 2, 2 8, which was pulled and had a vote. Four I one abstention employed 10, 1 6, 7, 10, 6, 3, 1, 10, 8, 6 2, which all had a vote of five zero. Yes. On the 2, 2 8. That

008was an abstention and that was by Carol. You resolved that pursuant education code 4 4 9 2 9 0.21. The following probationary certificate and employee shall not be reemployed in 20 25, 20 26 school year. And then superintendent or his designated directed to give written notice. Therefore I required by law for employee 10 0 0 2 1, the vote was ten one, or excuse me, 4 1 1 M. Now therefore it is hereby resolved and ordered by the board of education that the following employees released from the positions indicated below effective June 30th, 2025 and reassigned to a classroom teaching position or other certificated position for this school year of 2025. 2026. This is for employee 9 8 2 3. We had four eyes and one no, which was Carol. The resolved the board of

009education except resignation agreement and general release between MUSD and employee 8 9 1 7. The vote was five zero. The resolved of the board of education except stipulation agreement for immediate expulsion pursuant 24 dash 0 0 7. The vote was five zero. I understand, uh, one of the public comment, uh, Carlos is back in attendance. Yeah, I'd like to make a motion that we, Uh, re Retract the vote for employee number or, you know what? Let's retract all the votes. Let's just do all of 'em. Let's take back all the votes. That way it's over Resolution 17. Take it off the table. Second. Second. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Okay. Yes, please. Um, good evening board members. Um, my name is Carlos Torres Ra. I'm a TK teacher at Concor Elementary. I'm here because, uh,

010tonight I believe my non-reelect. I'm here today because, uh, I believe my non reelection is unfair and influenced by factors beyond my performance as an educator. Uh, since the start of the year, I've dedicated myself to my students, ensuring to feel safe, excited to learn and prepared for kindergarten. Families have told me how much their children have grown in my class. In fact, I have letters from parents, including one since my principal many months ago. Um, expressing appreciation for the education and positive environment to provide, uh, if my non-election were truly about my effectiveness as a teacher, I don't believe I would have the, this kind of support from my students' families. Instead, I've been subjected to procedural violations, unfair treatment and unequal disciplinary action. And compared to my colleagues, my required pre-observation meetings were

011never scheduled by contract requirements. And talking with the other staff, I've learned that many of the other teachers also never received pre-observation meetings, but they were reelected while I was not. They may not care because their jobs were never impaired. But this raises a major concern about how observations are being used, uh, if the basic contract requirements aren't gonna followed. Other teachers have made the same mistakes that I did, been facing no disciplinary actions yet. I was forced in multiple meetings or minor issues and now being let go. I followed my union's guidance when I raised concerns only being told not to pursue them. And I'm being told I missed my chance to challenge these issues. I also command more that I'm the only me male Mexican American teacher at the school and I feel

012like I'm being targeted. If non reelection is supposed to be based on merit and job performance, then why am I being held to a different standard than my colleagues? Uh, I'm not asking this board to reverse my non reelection. I'm just asking this forward to hold leadership accountable for ensuring that non elections are not used as tool to remove teachers unfairly. I want a commitment that teachers in the district will receive due process, fair treatment and transparency. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Resolution 25 17. I make a new motion moved by Pete. Second. Second. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any nays? I'd like to call for a re vote. Okay. Is there any second for a revo? Um, I'm gonna second it. Okay. All in favor? All in, uh, of you allowing this?

013The revote? Yes. Aye. Yeah. Okay. So you're calling for a vote for Revo, Right? Oh, for the revo. Alright, so all in favor can of the resolution, right? Can you read it again? Yes. You resolved that pursuant to education code section 4 4 9 2 9 2 1. The following probationary certificate of employee should not be reemployed for the 25 26 school year. And the superintendent is designated, is directed to get written notice. Therefore, it's required by law. Okay, but we're voting on four. We're not voting on one. Yes. Okay. Alright. So we're voting on employee 9, 2, 2, 8, 10, 1, 6, 7, 10, 6, 3, 1, 10, 8, 6 2. We're we're voting on, on all of, we're voting on the four, I believe. Then the, the three and then the one at

014six. So I know that the two eight shouldn't be in there. Okay, so we're voting on employees. 10, 1, 6, 7, 10, 6, 3, 1, 10, 8, 6, 2. All we get. Motion. I move. Second. Second. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Five zero. All right. Thank you. All right. On a happier note, we are gonna go to the reports for the student representatives. Which one of the three is brave? So first, cca, BlackRock nine, all. Let's go Little shorter, sorry. Good evening. I'm Rachel Gibbs at the Valley High School's Executive Board Vice President. And I'm excited to be able to share the latest and upcoming things happening at YBHS. Uh, a SB is having a impact schedule with fundraisers and events over the next few months. First up, our executive board has played a lip

015sync battle in our NPR from five to eight on March 20. On March 21st. This is, this was a very engaging event last year, so we're hoping it's the same this year. Uh, the senior class recently held an amazing senior excursion. On March 7th, students visited the California Science Center for an interactive learning experience and then enjoyed a memorable trip. Memorable trip to the St. Monica Pier. The excursion went very well and the positive feedback has been overwhelming. Later in the semester, the seniors will cap off their journey with a senior sunset on May 9th. You may remember we had a senior sunrise at the beginning of the year. So a sunset is just a little celebration to mark the end of their high school experience. And they'll also be bringing back the legacy walk

016pretty much. Who doesn't know what a legacy walk? It's just for seniors to go back to their elementary schools and kind of walk through in their cap and gowns and just say goodbye. Uh, our junior class is busy preparing for E 15 or every 15 minutes. Uh, this involves realistic simulations and presentations to emphasize the personal responsibility and the consequences of drinking while impaired, as well as their 2025 prom. To help fundraise these events, the junior class has started to sell graduation gifts. This SEC includes bouquets and lays online that also be selling them at the ceremony itself, as well as the car wash on May 31st that Sherry Millers to help both to help fund both E 15 and prom. And also don't miss our St. Patrick's State brunch this Saturday, March 15th at

017the Elks Lodge to start planning and fundraising for next year's prom. Our sophomore class is geared up in their pat Buff game on their May 2nd from three to eight on the football field, as well as another car wash at Sherry Miller. Uh, their fundraising efforts also continue with an exciting partnership with Firehouse Subs and Juda, who will be giving 30% of their sales. Uh, to our sophomore class. We one for Firehouse Subs will be on March 21st and Juita will be on May 9th. Um, sorry. Another fun event is a staff first student basketball game on April 18th. It's our first time willing this from our freshman class, which we're really excited about. Uh, we would love for the board to stop by and experiencing in experience these fundraising events firsthand. Whether you can

018make it to our high energy lip sync battle or one of our car washes, or just any of our other exciting activities, we warmly welcome you to join us and celebrate with our school community. And as spring begins, our sports teams are stepping back into action with boys tennis, golf, swimming track, and field baseball and softball. They all started to kick off their season bringing, you know, fun new energy and offering some student athletes a time to shine. Uh, another event is our Unified Champions program has started to promote inclusion awareness even more with today's youth Summit held in collaboration with Special Olympics, providing leadership opportunities that energize not only our students, but to all the other students who came and joined us from other campuses. We also have our Disability Awareness Week from March

01917th to March 21st. And it'll be featuring a disability awareness event on March 19th in our gym where we'll have different simulations of disabilities. Uh, another exciting event, why VHS held was our career day. It was held in the YHS gym on February 28th, and it just helped introduce our students to a variety of job opportunities and college pathways available After graduation, uh, professionals from all different kinds of fields came and shared insights about their careers, the education required, and just the skills needed to succeed as well as many speakers highlighted how students can start preparing already in high school with just taking relevant courses, participating in internships, which we talked about. They offer actually out here and joining in, um, activities related to their interests. So I think it's easy to say it was

020a big hit with the students for just starting to plan everything. Uh, thank you so much for your time and your support in making all these events possible. Is there any questions? Can you tell me again when some of those car washes and fundraisers saw you were going so fast? I couldn't write it down. I'm sorry. I just excited. But, um, the youngest car is very dirty. Yeah, we do have a lot of them coming up. Also a big thank you to Sherry Miller 'cause she always wants us to use her place. That's awesome. But, um, our first one I believe is, uh, May 31st and like I said, the Sherry Miller's. And then our next one should be, oh, I lied. It's actually April 26th and then May 31st. But those are two that

021are coming up. And then for our, uh, firehouse subs, that'll be on March 21st. And then our juice set up one will be on May 9th, the same, same as the lip syncs. You can get like a nice sandwich and then head on over and watch it. It's dinner and the show. I actually wanted to nominate President Claire, if you need anymore for the lip sync. He's available and wants to do it. I would rather wash Bianca's car or if anyone wants to judge it, just lemme know. We're still looking for like two more. So just putting that out there. But speaking of the lip sync, that'll be on March 21st if the case That wasn't rundown. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you very much. Uh, good evening. Board members signed 29 Palm

022High School Junior William Sum, uh, student representative to the Board of Education. Um, there are a lot of sight news, uh, to share about our Wildcat community Islam. Um, in academic news, standardized testing is in full swing. Our entire sophomore class recently took the PSAT 10, um, and this week's freshman honors class, uh, honors classes and early college initiative. Students are taking P PST eight and nine. Um, cast testing starts next week with their juniors taking the math test as they hope to earn the machine incentives through high, uh, performances on the tests. Uh, so luck will be doing that next week. Let's go. Um, we will also want to celebrate the success of this year's freshman class of, for our high school success program. The first semester data shows that in English nine there

023was 89% increase in overall passing rate. Um, and a 13% increase in students earning a C or better. Uh, in integrated math one, there was a 21% increase in overall passage rate. The 20% increase in students earning a C, right? So we had to go freshman wild. Um, spring sports turned full swing track and field having 65 Wildcats in the team this year. Um, we held a successful home meet last Wednesday. Um, most boys tennis had 14 wildcats competing and they're off to a three to two start. Both baseball and softball are also up to great. Starts the season with softball and five three, and baseball is currently ranked second in CIA Division eight according to max preps for the 5 2 1 record. Our swim team currently has eight swimmers and are yet to

024hold the first team that they are doing well. Um, last Friday they, we held our annual international festival, uh, which shows a huge success. Our assembly performances and food festival were all amazing and a great time was held by all. Uh, we were very proud of our cultural diversity, including at TVHS and the celebration is a big part of the culture. Um, we also have a handful of new clubs to offer to our students. Keynote clubs started recently, which allows students to indulge in the performing arts. Any them include, uh, choral and instru performances. Uh, sad where students against destructive decisions helps to encourage students not to take the make destructive decisions such as drug alcohol abuse. Um, they hope to give students who struggle with these issues of community they can rely on while

025preventing others from starting. Finally, the military Student Assistance clubs introduce the beginning of the school year, which I would like to touch a bit more on. Um, I founded this club at the beginning of the school year. I said, um, the basis of helping new military students become more acquainted with both our school and community and, uh, local city. Um, uh, it's something that I wish I could have had and that I would be able to learn to be able to move to a new place and learn about things I may not be able to know right off the bat. Uh, so I can take my best step forward in terms of classes, extracurriculars and sports and things like that. Um, so throughout this year we've done a lot in the setting up and planning

026to then be able to reach out and connect to the new incoming students. Um, we've created pamphlet containing a unique information to where we live in the high school. But most importantly, I've been in contact with both the military military liaison and the Combat Center in Chief of staff to help us lengthening coming. Um, that's all I have today. Thank you for letting me give you an update and all the great things happening at TPHS. Do you guys have any questions? I do. So when a student from, you know, that just relocates here from the military. Yes. So what does that look like? Do you say, Hey buddy, and you kind of walk 'em through or you say, you know, we have this program or because it is, if they're coming from say like Camp

027Lejeune, right? Mm-hmm. Totally different, Right? Yeah. Green Desert. So I guess I'm curious to know how you do that and what kind of support can the board give you to really make that a success? 'cause I think it's something that we really need and even a pilot to the elementary and junior highs. Yes. That is definitely something that I've thought about. Uh, I wanted to start with the high school, 'cause I'm in high school. Um, be easiest to start out with in terms of like the onboarding process. Um, what we would like to do is that the military for every unit has a sponsor, um, a unit sponsor. So what does, when a new family comes in, that sponsor can help them get acquainted with the area, analyzing, like in a family sense, like, okay,

028this is where you're gonna live. There's some restaurants out here, but what we want to do is we want to focus on the students themselves. Um, so we're still working on setting up that process up, but what we are hoping to do is the uni sponsor will connect with family and be able to see if they do have incoming students and from them they can then connect them to us. And so like we go, okay, do you guys, do you have any questions? Um, it's a new school, uh, that anything you want to know, you can answer those questions. And if there's anything specific that we think they should know, then we can then tell you that, um, like here in sports, here are the emails to the coaches or the emails to the counselors,

029um, and things like that. So that's what we're kind of hoping to achieve here. That's cool. I I Want keep, Keep up to date. Yes, I will. Um, as for what the board can do to help us, um, there's nothing that would come to mind at the moment. If there is anything, I will definitely reach out to you guys. I think you appreciate that. Good job. Thank you Lynn. Thank I really like that. That's, that's great. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. I have A quick question. Yeah. Um, you mentioned several different clubs. When do you guys actually get together to meet with those Clubs? As of all the clubs. Okay. So it's every other Wednesday, um, during our a SB class, seventh period. Um, so we all get together, all the presidents, or if the

030president can't come and someone of another officer of the club comes and then we go through our basic like, uh, officer's reports and then club reports as to what they've been doing, what they're going to do, um, and anything that they may need. So we do that every other Wednesday. So I actually got to attend the Fest, which I enjoyed immensely. I know it was, so I'll definitely bring money next time comes out. It was, the smells were just, I know, but I did notice that the strawberry line was the longest, so I didn't get to actually have a part of that. But, um, I, because we, we visited and we heard that the, there was a problem with the clubs that because of the lunches that they aren't being together during lunchtime. Yes. And

031like at the I Fest it was the Polynesian Club and there were a lot of different clubs that participated. So I was curious as to when they actually are where they find the time To get to. So as in, yeah. In terms of club meeting, um, I really like they handed off to both the presidents and the vice presidents who they weren of those clubs. 'cause we do have the two lunch, um, periods as well. But they have still, they've been doing a great job in finding the time to hold meetings and if, and still be able to like, say like they have a lot of people one, uh, period, not another. They've still been able to be able to work with those two periods together, um, and still achieve what they want to do.

032Um, but yeah, so they do hold meetings during fourth and fifth lunch sometimes if they have to, they do it after school. Um, we use Remind, uh, remind dad to keep in touch a lot. Um, so that's also gonna make help. Um, but yeah, usually they meet during fourth and fifth function. Yes. I think we maybe should, I know that this probably is gonna be appropriate time, but look at the two large thing so that we can promote the gloves on a little bit more. So yeah, the club culture is really important, especially in high School. Yes. Thank You. A little shorter than him. Hello again. My name is Joy and I am a senior at BlackRock High School. I want to take, to take the time to thank the board president, Mr. Claire, our

033superintendent, Dr. Marti, the board and the cabinet for line BlackRock to share all the great things we are doing with everyone. As of today, we have 19 students who have graduated. We have had a leadership academy and workshops with the new project, which has been working with staff and students. Next Wednesday, they will be back at another leadership academy with the students. We have been working with CMC every Monday to help students with their fafsa. We have 21 students register to start classes in the fall. And four students graduated early and started at CMC. This spring semester Groundworks, we have 19 students participating and learning about music creation such as songwriting, rhythm, music theory, and experimenting with various instruments. Unity, home visits once a week and students are invited to join a group called Healthy

034Relationship. Students who meet their credit goal had 80% attendance and earned at least one Raven Board by on a field trip to the McAllen Theater. We have both the Air Force and the Army give our students a presentation on the different branches of the military. We will be having our prom on May 10th from seven to 10. This year's theme is Casino night. Thank you. Do you have any questions? Are you a part of the, uh, leadership program? Yes, I am. So tell me a little bit about it. What do you guys do? Um, we actually do a lot of stuff for our school. I am gonna say the biggest part I think of leadership is, yeah, there's like a lot to take on everything, but I work great under pressure and I love taking

035that responsibility on. And that's something Miss c Kat definitely found that I work good under pressure. She's like, here, let, let's just give you a little more. And I'm like, you know, I kind of like this. But, um, I think the biggest thing is also being able to regulate my emotions and work through everything. And we have this counselor, I don't know, she should have mentioned that on here actually. Um, her name is Miss Antoinette and oh my goodness, she is such a sweetheart and she helps me a lot with regulating my emotions and lots of other kids at the school that come from other schools are struggling with stuff. But I think the biggest part of leadership that is amazing is being able to be involved in all the stuff going on and being

036able to see kind of the background of like our PBIS parties and planning and putting it together and like, kind of having that fun of throwing the ideas out there of different things we can do for like Spirit Week or like different ideas to bring together like characters, cartoons, all these like different things for Spirit Week to bring together for the kids to participate and to actually want to participate in. And I'll just look at it as, oh, another Spirit Week, you know, or, oh, another PBIS party kind of builds them up to actually want to meet their credit goal and want to do good in school. And I think that's my favorite part of leadership is being able to give other students that same drive that they were never able to find at other

037schools. That's awesome. I love that. So I have to say, and this is Mr. Ro and Miss Skin. You guys are lucky to have three students like this in your, in your campuses. It's really amazing. Joy, William and Rachel, you're more than welcome to sit through this or we're gonna have to start offering a prize nobody days. Thank you guys. Appreciate it. Next step is our logistic report. You up? I I had one, but I'll say that. Um, I'll save it till next meeting. Um, I just wanna let everybody know we did go over the second interim today. And so my legislative report would be that the board is closely monitoring everything that's going on the federal level and our, we, we've all, you know, agreed that we're gonna be very proactive, paying attention to

038what's going on, not reactive, but proactive as a board, uh, ensuring we keep everything afloat. So I just want you guys to know, like it was mentioned earlier, but even if you don't hear us talk about what's going on, we are all highly watching everything very, very closely since things change day to day to day. Uh, so just know that the board's paying attention. Thank you, Carol. Next up we'll have our classified representative, not attendance. Okay, we'll go to certificate. Good evening. Thank you President Claire and Ms. Hargrove and Mr. Wood and Ms. Matters. And Ms. Sto for the opportunity to address you tonight. Um, my name is Amber Hansen. I'm the Teacher's Association president. And tonight I wanna start first by acknowledging, um, our members who put some work into the literacy of a

039lot of work, some not the right word. A lot of work into the Literacy for Life event that took place on March 2nd. It was amazing. Um, Katie Fleshman, Melissa Stacy helped organize that with support from Amber Monera, Bridget Sears, and the coal parks. Um, and a lot of our members were there donating their time and the community came out lots of different, um, organizations to support and that was great. I took my daughter and she got so many books and we are reading one book at night and were still not through them. And in one pack, I don't know if you saw the packs they gave, they had, um, like teaching activities that you could do with the kids connected to the books. And they have one for every book in this pack of

040like 15 books. And so Lucia, it's really fun to watch with her torture her dad by making him do these things for her instead of me and I. So That's been great. It's really helped me get to work done because he's been entertaining her for a while and she's reading and she likes school and she left with a lot of books. It was an awesome event. I wanna thank them for that and acknowledge the work that they put in and the work that our, um, union members put in donating their time on the Sunday. It was a great event. And then tonight I wanted to talk a little bit coming up later on Sunshine, I wanted to talk a little bit about how we got to the sunshine. So I'd like to tell this joke.

041My husband will tell you that I tell too much. I agree about how I got voted in on one ride in boat, um, as a joke that changed my life. Um, and it is a joke, but there's some stuff that was going on for why that happened when it did. Um, bargaining was contentious at that time and um, the coworkers at my site felt that between the union leadership and the district leadership and the school board, they weren't getting a clear, uh, picture. They were feeling like chess pieces on the board. So they said, well, let's go send somebody in there. Ha ha ha. And it worked. And, um, so here we are. So those concerns were legitimate. So when I came to the executive board, the way they did bargaining is they input is

042they sent a flyer to the members at their box and said, if you have input, um, fill out this flyer and tell us what article and what language you want. And so then we would meet and there would be like three responses from 400 members, which is not actually knowing what members want to bargain. So from there, with our previous present coach on McCallum and our previous executive boards and then moving with, um, our current executive board, we really made an effort to go to members to ask them what they want when they bargain. And so last, we didn't bargain this year, but the previous bargaining we did a, we did site visits and we did a survey and that brought us to some great, a very student centered contract with some great wins. So

043financially we did, we, um, beat the state average of 7% with the 7.53% in our pocket, um, for one year. And then the 3% that we got this year were beating everybody again, they're coming in with ones. And the worst news I heard just recently is Corona Norco took the 0% for this year. So that's really a bummer, but we're happy for us, we got those big raises. But what's most important is that was the most student-centered contracting bargain. It hit goals that our members have had for years, the 18 years I've been here and the members on this board have had of starting to address class size. We had, um, we include in special ed in case of class size combo, class size bonus, but for their case load we got extensive supporting students

044acknowledged in the contract and with the class size in there. So those are big wins that are very student centered. Um, so moving forward this year, um, we've been doing a lot. And that's not just with the, um, I want to say that's not the work of the executive board or the bargaining team by themselves. That is with our members. They've been engaged, they've been responsible to their students and in advocating for themselves and their students. Um, so that brings us to this year. Um, as you know, it's a full contract opener. So we wanted to have a lot of, um, input. So this year we did two focused bargaining sessions where we educated members on their, on how bargaining works. And they were focused on specific issues that keep coming up that was attended

045by 70, 70 plus members. Um, we gave them some great prizes right before Christmas that they had gotten Nintendo switches and that talks to give away, but they, we had some really meaningful, meaningful conversations and one of the questions that we asked them to answer with everything they asked was, how does what you want impact the students? What, how does it benefit them or why is this a need for them? So then we site visits. We spent a day at every site in January, um, getting input. We held 148 one-to-one conversations and we had, uh, whole group meetings at each site that would total up for the whole district was 126 members between the sites attending. Um, and at those visits we asked them, what do your students need to be successful and what do

046you need to be successful? Um, so then from there we took all of that. We did this big survey. It was 62 questions long. Um, so it took a while and we had a amazing turnout on that. It's a gardening tool, so gold shared results with you until we share them with the members first and then they typically card. So get ready because we're coming and we got the members behind us. So, but anyway, so watch out Stacy, Karen. So, so from there, so, um, also, so because I'm kind of a blunt and I've been going on about you have a responsibility to your students to be engaged and it's a union. It's us, not me. Union, you can't spell, but you and I, I drive people nuts with these saying however, so at the

047end of the survey, you could not finish the survey without saying how you would support the, the, the union bargaining, um, in a specific way. So one of the things we're working on to make sure members are heard and members participate and the work is shared and that we reflect the need of the students. Because for example, I don't teach tk. So while we bargain that we probably need input from TK teachers is we have asked the members to participate in bargaining subcommittees that may or may not work with the district that will be determined through bargaining, um, in areas they care about. So you cannot submit that final survey after you filled out 62 questions until you clicked question 63 and said how you would help. Or you have to scroll all the way

048to the bottom and said, I don't want to help. So some people still did, but that's okay because if more people do work that share that, share the workload. So we are hoping to use those to also make sure that our members are heard and have a say, 'cause it's our contract. It's how we will advocate for our students. 'cause we do believe our students deserve the best and when we improve working conditions, we improve their learning conditions. So that's how we got tonight. So when you look at the sunshine and you are like, there are 500 million things on here. Yes there are, it's very aspirational 'cause it's a full contract opener to solve problems lead to shared decision making, um, and make our student, our teachers and our counselors and all of the

049people that work on the front lines, uh, and know what the students need to empower them to be able to drive some of that is part of our goal. Also tonight, I just want to say when you're the president, you get to sit and hear a lot of conversations with people. So when you go and ask how does this impact students and want to, your students need to be successful, you get to hear about AP chemistry and how it needs to be, um, organized for the best needs of the students. You can hear about benchmarks, you can hear about tk, you make presentations and little four year olds thinking they know what a presentation is and they do and they can tell you how they put it together and they can stand there and talk

050about it. Uh, they write sentences. They're learning to write, you know, um, about apples and an opinion on if the green apple's better than a red apple. And I wanna say that it was a privilege to sit and hear these teachers talk about their students, that there is professional knowledge and deep care for those kids. And I benefit every day. And I poured into, and I hear that and I am proud to have been elected to represent them. And mostly I'm very proud of them and I want to acknowledge how wonderful they are and how much they care about their students and the professional knowledge that exists in this community of teachers. And that should be, um, part of the process when we decide what happens to students. Thank you. No questions. I'd just like

051to say that that was an outstanding presentation. Thank you very much. You're doing a lot of work. Yeah, I'm a little tired. And that literacy, um, for life was outstanding. I a lot, a lot of teachers there and that, that made me pretty happy. So Thank you. It was I, good job. Them too. Thank you very much. Have A good night. I, no, tonight did you want to work? Were you gonna try to come and visit you? Did you wanna update us on that or recently? We next week On the 18th. On the 18th. If you would like to know as soon as you can because I would need to get you permission to come on base. Great. Thank you very, I would like to RSVP for that. That will be good. Okay. She knew

052your names. That was my question is how, how are we going to let you know? How do you want us to let you know? Email. Oh, okay. And I, I can give you part. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Right next up the report for the bond oversight committee. Let me guess that. Uh, old quotation about the dead penny just kind of rolled through. Um, I'm Don Cole and this is my friend. I'm trying, I was introduce, we're here to report that we convene the oversight committee that you commissioned a week ago. Uh, I'll run down just a quick highlights of the meeting. So you know what we covered, uh, Dr. Vargas convene us and we had to, uh, then organize a committee, committee of seven. You know that because you chose that.

053Uh, Jeff is our chairperson. Brian Sullivan is our vice chair to representative. To the board are John Cole and Daniel Daniel's not here tonight because he's a firefighter on the base and he's on duty. So one or both of us will be at, uh, board meetings if we are reporting to you or you won't send something to us. Uh, secretary is Rebecca Wahlberg and the remaining members are Jennifer Ec and Paul Hoffman. We then had a presentation from Don Fields from Orrick, which is the district's, uh, bond council and had a presentation there. I'm not going through and so forth. But talk to us about the purpose of the oversight committee and, uh, roles and responsibilities. And of course we had your resolution in the past to, uh, get the bond way back then. That

054led us into the oversight committee bylaws, which you, I believe sent to us so forth. And we had some discussions in that. And we have, um, some things we wanna look at, at probably a few minor changes that we're going to make and so forth. But we started in on that and then, uh, Dr. Vargas reminded us about the Brown Act. You might be interested to know that Group of seven has a lot of experience on committees and boards and so forth. And so the Brown Act was, uh, something that was quite familiar to us. Um, the difference from you to this board is we have seven, so the forum is four. And um, then Dave Daniels, uh, introduced to us the projects you all were recognized that, uh, because that was what was developed

055for the Major C project implementation list and so forth is where we're going. And, uh, it include the financing schedule. And he, uh, reinforced to us that, uh, we probably will be making site visits and what we may, uh, how we may be handling that and so forth. Uh, he was quite as good. Like I think a lot of us are about this long getting passed and what we be able to do with our facilities. So we're really excited to be a part of that. And one of the things that uh, I think you're, you're probably quite aware of it is almost to, uh, she already the kitchen air at uh, 29 Palm Junior, you know, 20 junior was the oldest active, uh, school in the school district. So that's what, uh, we covered Jeff,

056was there anything else that you wanted to mention? Uh, just we're excited, exciting time, like you said with the bond passing and uh, I think we have a really good group and we're excited to help the district and kind of need checks and balances that the bonds and the project start. So we're gonna be three times a year, um, probably our next meeting in September, but we'll be again beginning of the year and then next May. So we're very excited and more if we have to, you need then one last comment. You have three youngsters like that, that come up and do this. Aren't you glad you're in the kid business? And then you get reinforced by all the enthusiasm that's coming from the certificate and the good time to be in education. Thank you.

057Any question? Any question? I, I do have a question about the priority, the priorities of spending the money because we have a new board and I would like to as a board be able to know what those priorities are they beginning being given to you. So Mr. Daniels, is that something that you could provide for us that if you've given have, have you been given a list of priorities to I answer that those were the priorities that the board had. You had a workshop and those are exactly what was given to the I know, but we have a new board here too. That's what I'm saying is that they probably aren't aware of the priorities And that's the idea. That's what we discussed. The fact that we need to schedule a new meeting with a

058new board to discuss the priorities and that you realize so that we can provide correction for the oversight meeting. Can we do that? Dr did let us know subject to change with a new board. So share what they are now subject to change. Thank you. Thank you Jeff. Appreciate it. To see the list of numbers on board, uh, like hey, it's really tremendous. We got really lucky with that. So thank you for your service. Uh, next up will be Stacy Small. She's gonna us M-U-S-D-M update. Good evening board president, Dr. Vargas board cabinet. I'm inviting Amber back up and we're going to, um, share our sunshine reports or we can sit down now. You did a great job already. So, um, we are, as Amber has said before, we took a two year agreement and

059our last negotiation, so we have not been the negotiations table in two year. We're excited to open negotiations for the 25 26 school year and it is a full reopener. So we do have the ability to open any article in contract, um, in your sunshine. You see that MUSD and MTA do have some articles in comments that we're interested in, uh, negotiating. Um, we're also interested in subcommittees, so that was good to hear. Um, article L evaluation procedures and ESD is really interested in that. We have new standards in both, um, for both the teaching, for the teaching profession and our counselor standards that we need to take a look at and incorporate it into our evaluation procedures. We're also interested in opening Article J adjunct duties, um, article N leave provisions. There's some new

060laws in regards to leave that we want to ensure that we clarify Article O assignments, transfers and fillings of vacancies to really clarify that process with the MTA article P class size, specifically looking at some of our combination class stipends and the timelines for that. Um, article S of course compensation and benefits. Article B term of course to adjust for the new term. And then as always we'll look at, um, our school calendars we're look at any edits or clarifications of contact of contract language throughout the contract. Um, and then looking at any of our, uh, MO user side agreements for either reinstatement, um, additional adding to the contract or deletion of those. And I'll let, uh, Amber share hers as well. So, um, we've said go contract opener a few times, so I wanna

061make sure that everyone understands that. So generally what happens is most years you, you get to open two articles each side and then salary and benefits is open. So most years you get to open a total, I get NTA gets two and USD gets two. So, and then salary benefits is mutually agreed, always open. So there's five articles open. So we set a term for when you can do a full contract opener. Ours was three years then we delayed it to this year. So a full contract opener is when each side can open all of the contract. So tonight when I read you all of these and you're like, that's a lot. Yes it is. And it is a full contract opener here. And NTA is very ambitious in trying to solve some problems and

062get involved in some shared decision making. Um, so when we read this, that's the goal and I want to prepare everybody that the work that will go into this will take time. So it's not going to be like we met twice and then everything's done. So MTA is plan is opening Article C association rights with AIMS to expand present release time, article D, employee rights to clarify seniority processes and expand employee rights. Article e grievance procedures to clarify definitions and timelines. Article, um, h which is safety to codify safety language and expand representation on committees Article i working conditions to protect educator conference period, working conditions and site leadership teams. Um, also addressing transitional kindergarten working conditions and to codify, um, the minimum day MOU language. We're also aim in Article J aiming to reorganize

063language related to minimum days. Um, article K committees. We aim to propose joint committees again for shared decision making. Um, article N leave provisions. We're aiming to clarify bereavement days and personal leave definitions. Article O assignment transfer and filling the vacancies. We aim to clarify assignments, transfers and processes for openings within the district. Article P class size, we aim to address class size ratio and additional support provided to educators. Article Q. Special education students. We aim to compensate members for extra duty related to special education Article S, compensation and benefits. We aim to improve compensation for members to attract and retain educators. Article T concerted activities. We aim to clarify rights and Article B, the term mt a aims to update the term of the contract. Also, we tend to explore opening a new article

064for dual enrollment and edit all appendices as applicable. No, my brain just caught up. Um, anybody else? Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Next up in your words cell phone policy update. So Good evening Amy, you can begin talking Okay with the mic. Thank. Good evening. Good evening. Board President Claire, board members and superintendent Dr. Vargas. Thank you for the opportunity to update the board on the implementation of the NSD cellphone policy. I would also, while we're getting ready, like to introduce and thank some of the crucial people that have been working, um, and who were gracious enough to come when I asked for this evening for any questions that you might have. And that is our comprehensive secondary principles, Ms. Gordon, Mr. Sw, uh, Ms. Rug Kinta, and um, our, uh, instructional services team,

065Dr. Dr. Nick and his amazing admin assistant Sarah Smith, who is doing a lot behind the scenes to make this happen. So, um, I'm gonna go actually, 'cause you don't need to see the first slide. So I'm going to start. Uh, Are you do There's Been a problem. So We is going to talk about disconnecting to reconnect right now while we're trying to load this. Um, so I wanna talk about where we started with this whole process. On September 24th, a board study session occurred on safety, if you will, some of you'll recall. And the issue of cell phone use during the school day and the disruption that they caused. In addition to the direct to our students', mental health was presented. The board provided direction at that time to begin the work necessary to

066comply with assembly bill thirty two sixteen, the phone free cell phone act in a manner that would work for our district. So we conducted stakeholder forums with students and parents, certificated staff and classified staff and management to gather input. We researched various options including locking bins, uh, storage locker, various portable locking devices. We studied other districts, cell phone policies and California such as Palm Springs and Banning and Beaumont and Coachella. And we actually even held a Zoom meeting with Madera Unified, uh, because they had implemented a Lockheed device policy. And so we talked to them about their rollout process and the potential challenges that they encountered. I've been engaged in multiple meetings with secondary administration to determine the best approach for all of our secondary schools and worked on creating district compliance procedures. We carefully

067considered all feedback, both positive and negative, and chose the direction that best supports our student success. As a result of this pre-work we have conducted or we have concluded that a soft start is better for practical purposes beginning after spring break. So the soft rollout plan, preparing for the full implementation, the effective date of the soft rollout will be the beginning of fourth quarter April 7th. The purpose is to help students, staff, and parents transition more smoothly before a full policy implementation in the beginning of the 25 26 school year. For secondary schools, the elementary school guidelines are very simple. They will enforce the, uh, cell phone policy that exists right now, which is cell phones off and in your bag and not out during school hours. And teachers and staff will be able to

068provide binders and support for our students, um, with consistent enforcement to build routine before the full implementation at the beginning of next year. The secondary school guidelines are very much the same. The soft rollout will be, uh, phones will be off and stored in backpacks during instructional hours and, and staff will be able to monitor, um, how our students are doing with this and provide guidances needed along with our administration. And beginning of the 25, 26 school year, students will be required to use the locking yonder pouches to secure their phones. And I'd like to address, um, some in, in planning for success. You'll often encounter rumors and ible rug rampant. And so I'd like to address the rumors that we are taking cell phones away from students We are not. Uh, the phones will

069remain with students in their belongings in the magnetized lock and pouch all day long. So what to ex, uh, and why a soft roll off rollout again, um, providing time for students and families to adjust, uh, for next year and allowing schools to address concerns and assist with the smooth transition. And take a look at what we might not be thinking of right now. So what to expect. Uh, beginning now and through August, we will, um, have students and staff and parents receiving ongoing communication and training on the oner pouches that are magnetized. Um, the policy will be in full effect at the start of the 25, 26 school year, August 11th, 2025. And enforcement will then become consistent elementary, uh, with again, the enforcement of the current currently adopted cell phone policy of phone

070off in your bags and the secondary schools, junior highs and high schools, um, going to the younger colleges. And those are the comprehensive schools. By the way. This does not include, um, any non comprehensive school. And I will note that we want to ensure that we don't want to put the implementation of the phone free, uh, is entirely on the backs of teachers. So let me introduce the yonder pouch to you. It's a simple and secure solution to assist in the implementation of the, uh, the MUSD cell phone policy. So students, um, secondary students will be issued beyond pouch with the rest of their instructional materials, um, on the first day of school or when they come to orientations. The, just like any other instructional material that we issue them, their textbooks, their schedules, and

071it lends a legitimacy to the pouch as an issued piece of school equipment. The benefits of implementation of the NUSD cell phone policy are academic in nature. Um, students perform better when bones are not accessible during class for a multitude of reasons, and to allow teachers to teach the students to learn, uh, the mental health risks. Excessive phone use is linked to an increased state of anxiety, depression, and sleep deprivation for our students. Social development, the overuse of devices, uh, limits face-to-face communication skills, real life social interaction skills, and it really impedes the development of empathy in our students with their socialization. And the last, um, component of this would be the social media and cyber bullying aspect. The, the constant exposure to online harassment and unrealistic portrayals of life erodes self-esteem and it fuels

072insecurity, and it fosters emotion of turmo. It fosters emotional turmoil. So addressing concerns, some questions that people may have. And again, at the end, I, I have all of my resident experts here, they're happy to answer any questions for you, uh, for the soft rollout for the equal implementation in 25, 26. But what if my child, what if I need to reach my child? So I was a principal in this district for 17 years, and parents called the office to communicate with their students to leave a message, your dentist appointment was canceled. I need to pick you up early because we have this family event and they call the front office. And we are working with our, uh, administrative staff to ensure that folks are answered, messages are given, and that parents can rely on

073the fact that they will be able to get a message to their students. Why can't phones be out during instructional time? Well, we do, again, seek to reduce the confrontation and cyber bullying, along with encouraging real life face-to-face interactions with our teachers and with our students, and with our students to our students. So, Ms. Woods, will this actually work well? Um, many school districts, for example, L-A-U-S-D and Diablo, Lancaster, San Mateo, um, have all implemented and have seen, uh, academic improvement, uh, in performance and student wellbeing after implementing similar policies. And while some issues are reported, they are very few. And lastly, well, what if my child has a medical reason to need access to their phone? Students with approved medical conditions requiring phone access such as diabetics with the implants will be provided a

074medical pouch. The medical pouch looks identical to the regular yonder pouch only in Velcro, not magnetized. So it does not single students out, but they have access to that equipment when they need it. A summary reflection here, again, to sum it all up, is the primary focus of the implementation of the MUSC cell phone policy is to foster a better learning environment and it prioritizes student wellbeing. I thank you. And do you have any questions? Any questions? So the yonder pouches, they're gonna be issued like a, um, uniform for PE or anything else? A football helmet. The uniform for pe beef jerky For the freshman fundraiser or your math textbook, how much does it cost the families? Um, it costs us $33. Again, we do have instances where things are damaged in the possession of

075the student that's beyond the student's control. And that's understandable. It's the intentional damage or the damaging of regive pouches that will become an issue. Gotcha. So if my student damages their pouch intentionally needs to new one, then they'll have to pay. We'll have to talk about that, yes. But if, you know, they're, again, things happen and we have got a 10% overage for students who need a pouch, may have forgotten it that day, or who may have had something happen to their pouch. And how will this be checked and enforced and the students come to school? Um, the cell phones will be placed in the magnetized pouches in an ingress and egress policy. In other words, coming in and out of class, there is a, a very specialized magnet, very specialized magnet, um, that is

076a very specialized shape that has the very special mechanism on the locking younger pouch. And so that is what we are currently working, um, with our principles on, is do you, do you want stationary? Do you want rolling? Do you want a few of both? Where would you like them for the ingress and egress that the students have, um, placed it in the pouch upon entering their, for, you know, the, the campus. Now the teachers will know, first of all, the teachers shouldn't be seeing them because again, they will be in their, their possession, their, their backpacks. But, um, it's very easy to see if the yonder pouch is locked. It's a simple click and then the, the, the mechanism pops in or it pops out, and then you can see whether the, the pouch

077has been locked or not. And it of course, doesn't, uh, stop the phones from going off. They left the phone on. So then what happens if it's going off and causing a distraction and they can't get into the pouch? That's a very good question. They will, well, there's, there are magnets that will be all over. Oh, different places in campus or staff. We haven't necessarily decided on every teacher of having one in the classrooms. As a matter of fact, the teacher have asked us not to. Um, and other schools have said, don't do that. Um, so again, we are in the process right now of working with each individual site because they are all very different. You know, 29 junior is very different from Enta as far as your ingress egress. And so they are

078going to provide information for us so that Sarah can interface with the yonder company as they come to do the training and as they come, uh, to provide us with this equipment to be able to know how many and where that we need them. Obviously there will be some in the office. I have to pick my child up early. You need to demagnetize my pouch. I came late because they had a dentist appointment. We need to be able to lock my pouch. So it is, a lot of this is going, if you wanna ask any of the administrators, you know, their thoughts on that, that's perfectly fine. But we are right now, um, as we're doing a soft rollout starting in April, we are taking the rest of this year to figure out where and

079how the ingress egress is going to happen inside the campuses. And where are the best places for the magnet? First, I just want to say amazing. I can't believe how you guys came up with that really, really fast. Um, so thank you to Ms. Gordon. Hey, Mr. Swam. Mr. Zo, Mr is very grumpy right now. He looks it, it's because I bothered about golf yesterday. Um, no, really, I mean, thank you for pulling this off so fast. My only concern, and I I don't know if it's for Dr. Vargas, is the date that this is supposed to start is July, 2026. It will be, these will be implemented when they come back to school. No, no. I, yeah, the state, I'm, I'm, I'm sorry. Let rephrase that. The, the state wants us to have this

080done and ready, the policy by July, 2026. That's correct. So, uh, why are we rushing it so fast? Um, and is there any legal kickbacks that can happen to us for going right into it? I'm not, I'm not opposed to it. I just wanna make sure I'm covering the legal parts of it. Uh, when we talk about safety is how soon can we be safer? And this is one of the reasons why we are looking to implement this policy, especially after taking in consideration the board direction, which was at the time we are moving forward, we need to do this, and our kids need it. And looking at the example of several districts that initiated this and took action to, and run, run with this, then we say, you know what? We can do this

081one. And we took this whole year to prepare to plan before implemented in the next, the following year. Uh, no doubt, this is very important. I, I think it was a couple of us I know referred and I saw Anxious Nation at the school board. Remember that documentary? That was a really eye-opening documentary about, I never thought about how important it was for her phone. Where are we on, um, a mom that says, oh no, my kid gets to have their phone or he is not coming to school. Where's our, our policy for that one? I don't know who to ask. I just wanna make sure it's asked. I know if it's Dr. Oh, it's Deanna Kinta. Come on up, Dan Skin to Oh, no. Okay. I, I love it that someone's gonna ask the

082principals a question. Um, oh, you're not. Okay. So, so first I wanna say before I do answer your question, that, um, I have had the privilege of being in several, um, community forums as of late that Dr. Vargas has organized, certificated classified. Um, I have a, a parent one coming up, um, a community one coming up here in a week. And without exception, I would say that the teachers and the classified staff have said, thank you that this needs to happen. And I know that it will be a change. And so with, you know, great change comes sometimes anxiety and sometimes pushback. Um, but we as the adults and we as the educators, need to consider what's best, uh, for our students and what's the most positive. And so I would answer your question, um,

083by saying this is the reason why I'm doing the update too, for the presentation right now, is to ensure that we have support is to ensure that our principals have the support that they need to ensure that this is the direction that we indeed do want to go and to ensure that this will be enforced like any other policy that we have, which is, this is the school board policy. So to answer your question, again, we are working on, um, the, the consequence matrix that does not involve expulsion or those extreme methods, but that does involve, um, ability to correct behavior, ability to help make better decisions, ability to have counseling and opportunities to talk through, um, the emotions that they may be going through. But it is a board policy. Okay. So what we're

084doing is we're gonna keep our existing board policy. Do we have an AR for that as well? No. Okay. So we're gonna keep, that's, we wouldn't need them for that. Right. Alright, so we'll keep the existing board policy to get the soft rollout. And then I'm guessing we would have to revise and add into what the may, June meeting or something. We have been eagerly anticipating A-C-S-B-A board policy sample that has not come. So, um, we are going to again, move forward and we will have a revision of the current board policy to reflect our secondary school policy and our elementary school policy. And then did the principals wanna add anything? You know, this is a fun group. They just look really shy tonight. Very excited. Alright. We appreciate your support. We really, we really

085worked hard on it. We all had a lot of conversation. Wonderful. But I think we came up with some very, very good, uh, compromises. And as long as we're consistent and have support, I think that we're fair with the family and just stay calm. And this is just our policy. We appreciate the steps that we have created. I think it would be okay, I second, I guess I'm a little bit concerned about the burner phone issue because that came up when we were talking with the students that you can take this phone away from me, but I'm gonna have another one as well. How are we gonna deal with that? We were, we were at the high school, and I'm gonna say that in every class we went into that students were present. There were

086students on their cell phones the entire time, even during instruction. So I know that this is really needed. I'm, I'm a little bit disconcert about we didn't know, I didn't know about this team that was working on it. We didn't know what the conversation was. We didn't know, we call these other districts what their policies were. And I've already expressed this with Dr. Vargas, that I felt like we needed to be informed as a board much more closely than when then we have been, because we're the ones that are gonna have to put the approval on this. And we know that like Los Angeles Unified went through this soft start too, and now they're at a complete ban. Couldn't we have learned from someone like that? And I, and again, what about teachers? What is

087the policy gonna be for teachers? And I know that that's an M-E-S-D-I mean, I know that that's an MTA issue that needs to be looked at as well. 'cause it was not, the cell phone policy that we have in effect right now is not being enforced. I understand. Um, that that is the case. And so that is why I, you know, in talking, um, with, again, our administration and our decision to do a soft rollout rather than a hard implementation fourth quarter, which had originally, or had initially been discussed, um, that to address your question about the burn phones, first of all, you're correct and I, I, I guess I would say to you, Ms. Myers, that, you know, making the perfectly the end of the enemy of the good is we can't control, you

088know, the the extraneous ones they have. But we do have a policy and we will develop a policy involving the lock, you know, the, the, the locking pouches and the enforcement of that policy. Um, the original cell phone policy that currently is in effect, I'm not at a school site right now, so I wouldn't, I would agree with you that it's not being enforced because I think that there hasn't been, um, the kind of the directive in front of it to say, this is something that is a priority for us and this is something that we're going to get a handle on. And that is why with the administrators, it was so important to speak with them of how we would even go about doing this. Because it is going to be a, like your

089question about what if it goes off in their backpack and and whatnot. It is really no different of, um, it's a disruption and the disruption would be handled by the consequence matrix for disruption. So we're just going to have to work it as we go through, just like we've worked every other kind of major issue. And Ms. Myers, I, I respect everything that you said and we're, we're just trying to, to work it as, as smoothly as we can, knowing that it is never going to be smooth. So you mentioned the con um, um, matrix, the consequence matrix. What does that look like? We are not, it's not been completed yet, although we are almost ready for completion. But we had, we, I had to, we had to get the consensus of the secondary administrators

090on what they could do and what was reasonable to expect. And so we've all come together multiple times with me and Dr. Nick to form the almost completed. And that would come again, come to you when, when it's been completed. We're just, we're almost ready. But it's been something that we've had to look, we've done a lot of research into edco, we've done a lot of research into other means of correction. We've done a lot of research with Ed with the county, but we can and cannot do with 48 900 K, which are disruption to finance offenses. I was curious, have the admins, have you had any initial conversations with your staff? I'm sure if back channel or are they, have you spoken to them directly because they're gonna be on the front lines dealing

091with these issues? Don't be shy. I know Mike's not shy. I, I've been a part of this, uh, process, uh, since the very early stages when it was gonna start as a pilot program. And, and I pretty much get my, um, there are some strong opinions on the staff about the resources that we have to effectively enforce the policy, the consistency, which we can't enforce it. We're you have, you have great secondary administrators in this district. And I have the history of having the assistant principal high school from 2006 to 2000. So I rode the wave of cell phones from when they first arrived on campus. There're a lot of work. There has to be consistency of enforcement. There has to be, there has to be resources to support the administrators so that they can

092do their job. There's nothing worse than we put a policy. That's, that's what my teachers are concerned about. Rolling out a policy that we are don't know about, but then not having the resources to support them. And this team has done a great job of trying to work within the parameters that we have to create the best policy. So I'm very proud of work that the team has done that Amy and Nick have done. And I'll see how the soft rollout goes and then we'll need to reassess and see how this happen. Thank you. Sorry to put you on the spot now as far as se support, you're talking about the consequence matrix. Is that kind of your mindset of what, what are you getting at by saying that support wise, first of all, the

093personnel we're gonna be able to dedicate the time to executing the consequence matrix. For example, 29 Palms High School. I had one assistant principal and I had one MTSS board. We no longer have OCI people in the district. I don't have a meeting. So when we are rolling this out, if there is an influx of students who are passively compliant housing those students and providing progression, discipline and intervention for those students, making sure there's parent communication with those students, um, all those things have to take place people. So thank you. And I just want to say that I don't want with my comments, I don't mean to disparage any of the people that worked on this. I think you did a really good job with that. My only comment was that I wish we would've

094known along the way a little bit more. So thank you for doing what you've done. Excellent. Thanks Mr. A positive note, The whole group of you. Nice job. Thank you so much. Thank you Amy. Next up Dr. Gutierrez for the literacy is life. Good evening board members, Dr. Vargas Kanick and audience members. The Morgo Unified School District hosted the Literacy is Life event on Sunday, March 2nd at Freedom Plaza at 29 Homes. This community gathering celebrated the joy of reading and promoted lifelong learning through a variety of activities, including free book giveaways, interactive art activities, and engaging story time read alouds, families explored community booths, they enjoyed student performances like readers theater and the Yucca Valley High School Garage Bank attendees were also inspired by Erin Bruel, the keynote speaker and author of the Freedom

095Writer's Diary, who shared her powerful message on the transformative power of literacy. This event was part of our district wide celebration leading into Read Across America Week. Thank you to our attending board members, Roberta Myers Carlee, Harrow Fi Stoker, Pete Woods, we appreciate you joining argument. We would also like to recognize our literacy coaches, Melissa, Stacy and Katie Fleshman for their leadership in Oregon 19. Thank you. In addition, thank you to Celeste Berg for her work in guiding the team. And last but not, we would like to also thank the following groups for their partnership and support MTA, including Bridget Spears and Amber Longoria, groundwork Arts, Joshua Tree National Park, copper Mountain College, 29 Palms High School, the Yucca Valley High School Garage Band Reader Theater students, including student readers who spoke about literacy and

096math, story time leaders, Mrs. CIA and Ms. Stoker, the iReady team, San Bernardino County Superintendent Schools literacy Team Z 1 0 7 0.7, radio station, big event, photo booths, STA bus, transportation, our MUSD, eloc and our MUSD nutritional services. So once again, thank you everyone for coming together, event, and I leave you with a video that captures the essence of our event. Hi, I'm Celeste, the Director of Innovation and Professional Unified. We are so excited to watch our literacy here today, Plaza. We're very excited to partner guest Celebr Brown. Hi everyone. My name is, I'm a coordinator for San Superintendent Schools. I'm here up our youngest. Thank you. Great job. Excellent events. Next up is our public Conference. Wait, can I say something like That? Yes. Beyonce. I just wanted to thank Katie and the

097whole team for putting on that event. That was great. Thank you for letting me read. Um, it was a joy to see all of the kids out there enjoying and having a good time. And, um, all of the people that came together to put on that event, like I said, the National Park, um, and lots of others that were just there supporting, um, our district. It was, it was a really fun event. Meeting Aaron Girl was really an amazing experience. Um, had she come and spoken to some of the teachers before? She seemed to know some of the teachers there. Okay. 'cause I saw her, um, communicating and it seemed like they had already met and, and gotten to know one another. Um, so that was really cool. And I know you guys talked about

098bringing her back for another event. So, um, interesting to, um, see where that goes. Thank you. Next up, public comment. Individuals may address the board on issues within the jurisdiction of MUSD Board of Education that are not on this agenda. There is a time limitation of three minutes per person and 20 minutes per topic during public comment. Please refrain from applause or side commentary to ensure the board members can properly hear all public speakers. Members of the public are expected to maintain professional courteous decorum during the comments inappropriate behavior, which disrupts, disturbs or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of the meeting or resort in forfeiture of your public comment privileges. The board is prohibited by state law from taking action or discussing items not included on the crypto agenda. Public comments on specific agenda items

099will be deferred until consideration of the item on the agenda. With that being said, we have one public comment, which is, uh, Katie Fleischman and Melissa Stacey. Good evening everyone. Uh, I'm Katie Fleischman. This is Melissa. Stacy and we are the, uh, literacy coaches for the district. Um, first and foremost, we want to express our deepest gratitude to Morongo Unified School District and our dedicated educators, our incredible community, and most importantly, our students and families for making literacy as life such an overwhelming success. When we first envisioned this event, our goal was to celebrate literacy in all its forms, not just reading and writing, but the way literacy connects us, empowers us, and opens doors to new possibilities. And on March 2nd, we saw that vision come to life in the most incredible way. Freedom

100Plaza was filled with excitement, families exploring literacy activities together, students showcasing their creativity and community members coming together in support of lifelong learning. It was truly a celebration of what makes literacy so vital to our lives. We want to give a very special thank you to the four board members mentioned earlier who attended the event. Your presence meant so much to us and the families and students who participated. Your support for literacy initiatives like this one, makes a real and lasting impact on our schools and our community. We would also like to acknowledge the hard work of every teacher, volunteer, and community member who contributed their time, resources, and passion. This event would not have been possible without them. Literacy is life was not just one day event. It is a movement. Our goal is

101to keep this momentum going, to continue creating spaces where literacy thrives and to ensure that every student in our district feels supported and inspired. Thank you again for believing in this mission. We look forward to even more opportunities to grow inspired and celebrate literacy together. Thank you. And thank you for the Teaser. Next up the consent agenda, a motion. So second, Moved by, second by Pete. Any discussion? I, I guess I do have one thing to ask. So for instance, with the books that we moved, would that now become an action item, uh, FGH or do we pull this into the, um, consent agenda? It part of the code? It would be part of the consent agenda and we will adjust and, and change to f with the items, with the code. Yeah. So it

102would be or action items or uh, it would be under, I'm sorry, honor. Action items. Action items. Okay. That's what I wanted to make sure. Okay, cool. Uh, did I have no, nothing else to add. I just wanna thank for all of those. I guess I do have a comment. All of those course outlines, Uh, What a lot of work to get all those in there much needed because we have to do it. But my goodness, that had to have taken some time. And I especially like these little electives, exploratory computers, career choices, creative writing, um, art, I think that's gonna be helpful with the parents, you know, understanding that they will get some, some cool stuff. So thank you Ms. Woods for all of those. Yeah, and I like the cadets under P right?

103I thought was a great change. That's okay. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Zero. All right. Action items resolution 25 dash 15 of the Board of Education and MUSD authorizing the issuance and sell and not to exceed 32 million aggregate principal amount of bonds of the district by negotiate the sell, approving a bond purchase agreement, continuing disclosure certificate and official statement for the bonds and authorizing, authorizing your date actions. The board of education's requested to approve resolution 25 15. And can I get a motion? Seven Second. Any discussion? Can we just get a, a quick synopsis? I don't know if it would be for Ms. Flores Daniels, just a little bit of a tiny, small fast explanation of this. Yeah, I'm sorry. And um, I think maybe to clarify a little bit on my end, um,

104it was 88 million to why we're doing it. 32 million as they go into trenches or 2 million. Yes, it's gonna go in three issuances. Okay. And so this is the first one because you have a certain amount of time to spend the money if you would get all those project save time. Um, so these are the documents that authorized sale, um, and the sales negotiator on the market. Depending on, um, what the market is doing at the time of the sale. We'll try to pick the best time. We'll determine what things are. Next week we're gonna berated by meetings, so we're gonna have those calls and meeting, if you will. And, um, these are to authorized so we get those bonds sold so we can get the money in our s and get our

105projects Based on our financial situation. Do you feel like we're gonna get a, a stronger rate in the, OR whatever does the rate We're gonna do our best because our deficit spending, we're gonna have a lot of explaining to. So I'm gonna do my best to explain on time, um, expenditures that we have in our budget. Um, and that was explained I think earlier today, but that was set aside by the board for this project and now we senate. And so, um, we, we have had, um, a ratings in the past and right, they read it So that the ratings are really important is that it impacts the rating, Interest rate, Interest rates. That's really quick. Okay. Thank you. Any other questions? Thank You. Okay. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Five zero. Next up

106resolution 25 16 authorizing workers' compensation for volunteers pursuant to California Labor law code section 33 64 0.5. Can I get a motion? Moved? Second. Moved by Carol Lee. Second. Aye Roberta, all in favor? Aye. Aye. Any nays? Aye. Zero second. Interim. Interim financial report for 24 25 board vacation is requested to certify that the MUSD can meet its financial obligations for the current year 24, 25 and two subsequent financial fiscal years as outlined in the second interim budget report and authorize the president of the board of education superintendent to sign the necessary documents. Can I get a motion? Second By Carise. Second by Roberta. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Ay, any nays? Five zero. Accept resolution 25 23. Scope closure due to emergency conditions, this resolution authorize MUSD to file a form J 13,

107a waiver to request approval for emergency closure of the schools on January 8th and ninth 2025. Due to power outages. For who? Sorry? Good by Carly second with PI. Yeah. Any uh, discussion? Yes please. Um, with this, is there a way we can connect the solar to some kind of generator or are we looking Listen, I think it's only gonna get windier. I'm telling you, I'm so tired of the wind a box, so in front of my car. So I have duct tape holding it on, literally duct tape 'cause I don't wanna spend 1800. But is there a way that we can store power or be more, I don't know what it would be with the solar or, or generators or something to where I worry about safety? No videos that can watch the kids.

108The doors are all open, you know, it's like a target safety issue for me. So we don't own the, now as you might recall, we have a power purchase agreement, so actually cooking storage to those is not possible 'cause we, they do not belong to us. Um, generators, um, have a lot of restrictions. A Q om D restrictions. Um, and so we've looked at some of the generators. We have 'em on some of our sensitive systems like firefighter members. Um, but that's at the deal and that's, that's on isolated case case by case basis. And so it is on our list of, we are looking at some of the issues that happen during the power outage. We have whole list working off, so we're still working through what other options that might be for that.

109Okay. And, and we have bond funds. We may be able to incorporate some of those expensive because it's all gonna be very expensive into some of the projects as we're renovating. Um, and, and replacing classrooms that worry about the doors and I worry about some cameras, uh, to keep the kids safe, you Know? Yeah. I really think we, that needs to be part of the worst. It's my concern too is we, Roberta and I went to several sites, not only that with lighting a lot of issues during that time, which is kind of outside of what we're talking about right now. But, um, maybe we can incorporate that as a section of our work study in the future because I need further discussion how we Forward. Yeah, sorry, just kind of me power. No, no,

110no, that's, that's perfect. I think it's on all of our right. So the um, and then the J 13 waiver. Uh, Sharon, do you mind just giving us a real brief what, what that means to us as far as, So this one specifically, um, was initiated from ELLP. It's not why I didn't talk to it because I'm the January 13 person where we usually do it for like, so days for instance. Um, and so with ELP being a newer program, they didn't have a mechanism for shutting to fund them for the days that they shut down. And so this is the process that the state has given them to recoup, um, their, their, their attendance for those days. We also included all of the schools on there because we have wrong shut for one day.

111We already filed J 13. That, you know, the more back that we have, it's the board, uh, resolutions, the, the, the better. Um, so as we attempt to get those all approval. Okay, thank you. All in favor? Or I Okay. All in favor? Aye. Any nas? No. Five zero. Last up. Confidential parent settlement, approve the confidential settlement agreement between MUSD and the parent of student. 4 9 3 4 0 7 5 7 3 6 oh A H. Case number 2 0 2 4 1 2 0 3 7 1. Signed on January 17th, 2025. So moved. Moved by Roberta. Second. All in favor? Aye. Five zero. And um, per Ms. Carise, uh, I I think that was a great um, change to the agenda and we're gonna go ahead and move um, the items for review.

112Item three, four, and five as item F in the action item so that we can approve those books this evening, this novel study this evening instead of, uh, leading three months to approve them. Can I get a motion? No. Second. Moved by Carol. Second by Roberta. All in favor? Aye Carol items for review? A few. Uh, first read review board policy 13, 12.3 uniform complaint procedures board policy 51 13 dash one, uh, chronic absentee and tru uh, truancy. Second read and review board policy 0 4 6 0. Local control and accountability plan board policy 5 1 4 4 0.1 suspension expulsion due process board policy 61 58 independent study board policy 61, 70 0.1 transitional kindergarten board policy 92 70 conflict of interest, informational items, cash receipts, budget transfer, uh, transaction report, accounts receivable, and

113the Williams quarterly visitation report. Can I ask a question about the Williams visit or just make a comment? Absolutely. That was great. There was nothing that I saw on there. We're doing good. That's all. You know, all the schools are doing really well with that. So I just wanted to say that was a really good report to read. Thank you Caroline. Future agenda items, governance handbook and demographics study district calendar. Next board meeting will be April 8th, 2025 spring break. March 24th through April 4th, 2025. We have a board study session. April 22nd, 2025, 8:00 AM at the JT Professional Development Center. And then a joint meeting with CMC Board of trustees April 22nd, 2025 at 2:00 PM also at the Trust Tree Professional Development Center. Next up, uh, board of comments. I think we

114started with, let's start with Carol this evening. Right? Um, okay, was tomorrow's the ReadUP what time? PM 1:00 PM at the Valley High? Yes. Yes. Library tomorrow 1:00 PM Alright, do you wanna stay? It is, uh, pretty much optional. If you like to be there, you can be there. I'll provide a summary of the meeting when we meet again. Okay. Alright. So that was my first, uh, literacy event. Oh my gosh, that was so great. My ladies are gown. But um, Dr. Gutierrez, it was so nice meeting your husband. I love when you get to bring your spouse and have him see or or her or somebody involved, see what you do. Right. And you were making him work so that was even better. Yeah, right. He had no choice but it was really nice.

115It was nice to meet him. So thank you for bringing him out. Um, nutrition service. Janet's not here. They gave out real hot dogs, not the fake ones. These were beef Sharon. Yeah. You know, hey, credit for that one. Um, yeah, now we're bottle it if we get the beef hot dogs. Um, but it was a really great event. I really enjoyed going. Um, I really enjoyed meeting, uh, Aaron Gruel. I had to wait behind Jim Beasley and this Montoya because they were like getting her in the, I think she's probably gonna come to their classroom at 29 high. Um, but they were making friends with Erin Gruel, which was so cool to see our teachers mingling with her. And then I made my husband watch the movie and I was like, oh, I am

116her. You know, it kind of builds you up. Uh, the city council meeting was really nice. They did a living black history month wax museum. Um, and we showed up in force. It was as Dr. Gutierrez, uh, Dr. Vargas, myself, Pete, um, and it was Oasis Kiddos. One of 'em was my second grade student. So I was literally in the, the audience kind of crying at how grown she is 'cause she's in fifth grade now. That was exciting. Um, okay, I got a complaint about the track at 29 High. Do we still have a warranty on that track? David, David Daniels. I'm sorry David. I won't from No, I'm kidding. Heather, can you nudge David waiting For my queue? Yeah, I, listen, I went up there and I, I know that Jay Step has had

117a lot of us up there, uh, board members to see this track and it really is, I don't think it's on our end our fault. I think it's the company. Um, and there is a chunk missing. So if you are running, there's a potentially trip on that little chunk. It's kind of junky looking. Do we have the warranty? So the warranty is um, really not much wonder than one year on there as far as the workmanship, uh, that's standard contract warranty for any construction of California. Uh, as far as the materials that that probably, I'd have to double check on that one, but it's probably five years. We have had some recent, um, items that have happened down in the track this last summer was storms. Um, right now the insurance is reviewing whether or

118not any of that damage is attributed to that and uh, to the substrate. There was some damage that was caused due to wind. Um, shortly after the track was put in. Repairs had to be, those were due wind storms as well. So unfortunately it's been at the, uh, point of a couple of storm instances, but um, the insurance has rectified everything down there except for the tractor. So they've slow. But I keep Concerned with that track is it's, you've got 60 like I think that young man said there's 65 kids on the field team. So I just want to make sure we're not letting that track just go to waste. Uh, especially in such a beautiful field and you know, all of that. So I don't know what the cost would be on the, I

119mean Jason knows a lot about running, like that's what he does. Um, but maybe a cost on the sealant or something or I encourage you guys to look at the thing. I don't know much about it. I just worry that if we're going try to do league events at 29 i or yoga, 'cause youngest track has some issues too. I want to be able to bring people here and not show them a a track. So that was the complaint they had bring up. Um, I'd like to ask them if we ever do books or anything that we need to get in kids' hands. Really bad stuff, we just skip it. And if we need to see the book district office, you guys provide those? Yeah. Okay. So anything that you guys need fast, I'd like

120to just see us fast track that one, um, as a board. But that's of course a board discussion. But if we need to get books and kids hands, we need to get them in kids hands. Uh, That's it, that's all for me. I think I did it. Thank You. Care Keith. Well, I've been all those you talk about. Enjoyed it. Everything's great. You know, I I really enjoyed this, uh, past month or so of activities. I, it's fun watching teachers and and administrators out there having a lot of time. Good times and, and uh, seeing the kids having a good time and yeah, it's been great. So thank you very much. Thank you Pete. Bianca, um, I wanted to ask if there was an update on our music teachers being hired. Do you know That?

121Are we have any been hired? Yeah, so you'll, you should see, um, a large number of them on the April board meeting, but I think I would just because some of the different hiring things are specifics, instead of doing that a public meeting, I need an update. Um, prior letter board for specific individual. Okay, awesome. Um, I'm really excited. I loved the, the, uh, students' presentations today. That was the most I've seen them, um, energized. So that was, um, it was good. A wake up call. Um, it was a lot of fun to see them today, um, at the meeting. Um, and then the literacy event again was fantastic. I'd like to talk more to maybe Gracie everybody about, about that event and when we can, uh, do something again. David Bian. Roberta. Well, I

122have a whole list of things, but this past my bedtime too. So, um, made a lot of school visits and talked to a lot of principals this past month. Um, very enlightening conversations. I hope they were honest with me. Um, Visited some of the STEAM labs, which are incredible. They're absolutely incredible and like to see them utilized a lot more. The teachers need training and some of that stuff. It's so technic technological technologically up there. Um, I, I did get to go to the ELs staff meeting planning this month too, and was just so impressed with, uh, thoroughness of it. Um, teaching the younger student helpers and things that are in, in our e program. Um, went to the, was it was wonderful. Like everyone else has said that Dragons love tacos, but they hate

123salsa. So it was the cutest book ever and I enjoyed being read to. Um, the Flying Doctor's event on Sunday was amazing. The extent to which they helped so many people. It was. And the culinary students, I have to give a shout out for them too because they made the food for that event and I had a sandwich that ate half of there and finished the night before and I don't usually do leftovers, so it was really, really good sandwich. Um, I got the date for the base and I actually went to Oasis for the wax museum presentation and oh my gosh, it was just the cutest thing I had ever seen where they dress up as their character and we had the speeches memorized and, and it was very, very enjoyable. We also went

124to the career day. So this has been a really, really, um, month positive. And thank you all for being here tonight. I appreciate, um, the presentations. Thank you, Roberta. Um, I was lucky enough to go to the youth summit this morning and at Y Valley High School, um, I don't any you have been able to attend that, but what Jamie Wright and Andy and, and a bunch of other people, obviously the way they put it together was just remarkable. They brought schools in from San Bernardino, they brought in Josh Elementary, they brought in a bunch of schools and did all these great activities with these children. And one of the great parts is that they do incorporate asb, so they incorporate leadership so those kids get to work with these children. So it was a

125fantastic event and um, kudos to those two. They're doing amazing work. The career fair was also really successful and it was great to see the CTE programs represented really well. Um, we got, we may need to look at construction on the west side. He gave us a near, not a near full about, but that we have some opportunity on the west side for a construction program. Um, and he was great. Brian, is that name construction for CTE in 20? Brian? Sure. We'll go with Neil. He said Brian to me teachers. Oh, okay. Okay. The CMC teacher. Okay. We're confusing too. But, um, he was awesome. He's really, really enthusiastic. So that was great to see. Um, I noticed he got pointed out that I didn't go to the literacy event and I necessarily point out,

126but um, I had a conflict, but um, it sounds like a great event. I was able to though, I redeem myself a little weight. I was able to read at Noga Elementary, so I read the TK fourth grade and kindergarten class and those TKs, they all come up and hug you. They're so, I mean, they're just gives me the children such great little kids and, uh, those teachers and their patients is really amazing. I can't wait for that 20 that, you know, 10 to one ratio. I think that's gonna really help help those classes as well. Um, but overall, um, one of the biggest challenges trying to attend, you heard everybody attended a bunch of different things. That's something we didn't necessarily always hear from the other board. So I'm really, really excited that our

127board is really embracing that and going out to as many events as possible because we want to see all the hard work that all of you guys are doing. So we appreciate it. And, uh, once again, thank you for your attendance. You didn't mention that I got to meet the police officer. Who's your friend? Oh yes. So we do have a board member that has trouble with the law. Uh, she leaned over to me and said, Hey, I think this guy wrote me a ticket and Josh here. I said, well, let's introduce him to my friends. Okay. So that's what she's referring to. But with that being said, the meeting is adjourned at eight 13. Thank you.