0016 p.m. We'll call this meeting to order. We'll start with the pledge of allegiance by clerk Sutherland. To the flag of the stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> We'll move to 3B of the agenda. and we have nothing to report because there was no action taken in close session. And now we'll move to 3C, which is the public hearing period. We have a few cards and I'll call them up for our non-aggendaized items. We'll start with Cheryl Smith. You know, I'm working on it. >> This is like my whole thing. Buy tickets everybody. [screaming] Thank you. Hi, my name is Cheryl. I am the council PTA president and I am here to tell you about Elsagando Hometown Stars. We have this amazing event coming up this Friday, Friday
00227th. I even have flyers. Um, we are gonna have so much fun. There's so many great acts there. There's this girl who's like she does, if you've seen Pitch Perfect, she does the cups with the Yeah, you guys know the song. Okay, good. Because you don't want me to sing it. Anyway, it's fabulous. We um we have all kinds of talent there. We got bands. We got musicians. We got the Kings coming. Yeah. And not Elvis Presley. That's all I got to say. Just a little teaser for you. Um, you know what I'm talking about. So do you. Okay. So anyway, um, it's going to be a great night. It's going to be so much fun and it starts at 6, but no, you guys want to come early. You want to come at 5.
003Why do you want to come at 5? Because we have booths and they're going to be supporting our students and they're going to be supporting extra clubs all around campus and throughout our community. The Girl Scouts are going to be there probably selling cookies if I had to guess. just guessing. But it's going to be so great. Uh it's going to be a great night. So at 5:00 we start with the booth sales. Six o'clocks and seats. So then that way we can start the show. It's going to end by 8. It's going to be so much fun. And I'm here to say please come. Please come. It's going to be a lot of fun. So thank you so much for having me and allowing me to talk. And um I hope to see you
004there. Woohoo. Next we have Megan Fischer >> and you have three minutes. >> Hi, good evening. My name is Megan Fischer. I'm a former band parent president of um the high school band. I'm here to share concerns about the leadership of the band program under Mr. Harrison and the impacts it has on students, including my son, Riley. Mr. Harrison began as band director at the beginning of Riley's sophomore year. By his junior year, the environment within the program had changed significantly. Certain students were singled out and publicly criticized. Expectations were enforced that had not been clearly communicated. In some cases, agreements made with students were later denied. And when students referenced those conversations, they were accused of being dishonest. Riley was one of those students. Although some families brought their concerns to the administrators, many
005students were afraid to speak up for fear of retaliation. As a result, issues were never meaningly resolved. Riley is no stranger to high standards or rigorous instruction. However, he felt that the environment went beyond firm teaching. The unpredictability and tone created by Mr. Harrison caused significant anxiety for him. He often felt apprehensive about simply walking into the band room. After many discussions, he made the difficult decision not to continue in the program for his senior year for the sake of his mental health. Instead, he volunteered as a technician with another school's color guard program and fulfilled his VAPA internship requirement for the capstone project. He researched and auditioned for an independent winterguard program and was selected not only as a performer but also as an assistant captain. As a member of Prism, he is now
006in a supportive and structured environment and continues to grow as a performer and leader. I want to be very clear, Riley was never planning to march for Elskundo High School, even if there were an active Wintergard team. This brings me to my current concern. Students were initially given the impression that Wintergard would not be offered. Families received no response when they sought clarification. As several students committed to prism, an email was sent by Mr. Harrison expressing displeasure followed by followed five days later by a signup for their team. Despite insufficient student interest, an ESHS Scholastic A group was registered in WGAC in February after the competitive season had begun. It is my understanding that there are currently no student performers or instructional staff producing a show. It is deeply concerning that public band funds were
007used to register what appears to be a non-operational group seemingly for the sole purpose of filing a complaint against Prism for accepting ESHS students into or with WGAS. Students who worked hard to stay involved in an activity they love deserve better. I respectfully ask that the district provide appropriate oversight of this program and take student and family concerns about teacher conduct seriously moving forward. I appreciate your time. Thank you. Eden Finstra. Okay. Hello everybody. My name is Eden Finstra. I'm also formerly known as Eden Shot. And I've lived in this town my entire life. And I'm a proud graduate of Elsano High School, class of 2014. and the values I learned here shaped who I am, which is why I feel compelled to speak tonight. At the last meeting, several speakers criticized the February 5th
008student walk out protesting the ICE raids. Concerns were raised over vulgar posters, profanity, woke ideology, indoctrination, and a lack of diversity of thought. Let me say clearly, if individual students used hateful or vulgar language, that is not something to celebrate. Standing on signs or using profanity during school hours is not acceptable. But these students are as young as 14 years old. They're still learning. When young people care deeply about something, they don't always express it perfectly. As someone with a BS in child and adolescent development, this is part of adolescence and part of education. When I first heard our students might walk out, especially after seeing other schools in the area do the same. I honestly thought because of my experience growing up here, it's not going to happen. It's simply not going to happen.
009And if it does, it's not going to go over well on the Elsagando Parent Network. >> [gasps] >> When I saw that it actually happened, I had never been prouder to be a graduate of ESHS. I was proud that students are paying attention, proud that they're thinking about issues affecting classmates and families, proud that they believe that their voices matter. When I watched the videos shared afterward on the Elskeno Parent Network, I saw students walking peacefully. I saw civic engagement. I saw young people practicing democracy in real time. I was proud to see the positive response to the protest on ESPN 2. I want to add that I hope that the students who chose not to participate, those who stood off to the side, were not made to feel uncomfortable by adults they don't know,
010approaching them and asking political questions like whether or not they knew who Charlie Kirk is. When a student walks out or not, they deserve to feel safe, not pressured or confronted by strangers. Respecting diversity of thought also means respecting a student's choice to participate on either side or not at all. The district's graduate profile says you want students to become creative and critical thinkers, responsible, self-directed and resilient individuals and competent, confident communicators. Civic engagement requires critical thinking. It requires communication. It requires resilience. We shouldn't say we want these qualities and then condemn students the first time they attempt to demonstrate them. Encouraging students to think critically about events is not indoctrination. It's education. Allowing students to express themselves, even imperfectly, is not eliminating diversity of thought. It's modeling democracy. As a lifelong resident and graduate,
011I am proud of these students. And I hope we respond not with fear, but with guidance, perspective, and trust in the very qualities we say we want them to develop. Thank you. We have Tobin Wright and we have three minutes. Hi, my name is Tobin Wright and I am currently a ninth grader at Elsagundo High School. Um, I've currently I'm currently trying to even though I know it's early, I'm wanting to try and get into an Ivy League school for biomedical engineering. And so I've already completed um three semesters worth of PE, one with a band and two semesters with surf. Um but I'm trying to fit more APs and honors classes into my schedule. And um I currently do karate outside of school for 8 to 10 hours a week. Um, and I think
012that it is um that karate is a very rigorous and um intensive sport and that it should be approved on the ES board of approved sports for um like outside uh independent study. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have Janine Wright. >> Hi, I'm Janine Wright and I'm Toby's mom. Um, I'm a little bit frustrated by the process. Um we had sought from the school to have 0.5 half a half a year of PE waiver granted um as Toby pursues trying to get a third degree black belt in karate. Um he is uh currently been doing um karate for eight years. He will get his first degree black belt in five weeks um in Kyoto, Japan at the home dojo. Um and we were told that there was an existing policy and that we needed
013to submit um under this policy for a request that that half a semester be um for him to be allowed to do it as independent study. We went through the process of putting together all the paperwork and submitted it to the school. Um then they denied the request because they said that karate was not listed as one of the programs. Um there's like this uh the policy lists a number of different sports and karate is not one of them. Frankly, in my opinion, it's a pretty arbitrary list of sports that are listed. Uh and then uh the the school said that they had denied it because it wasn't listed and that we would need to um raise the issue with the board. We come to raise the issue to the board. I did request to
014formally be on the agenda so that you could take action tonight. Uh but then that was bumped to a conversation uh with Dr. Yang uh where I was then again told that the policy uh needed to be revised and that it was an old policy. And then I come tonight and find out that in fact there is no policy in place um and that a policy would need to be prepared from scratch. Um and regretfully it doesn't look like that timeline would make it so that my son can actually decide uh what he can do for his classes next year. So um at this point I don't really know um how to respond or proceed but the request is that we would like to have half a seme half of a year of PE done
015on independent study so that he can pursue both his rigorous academic classes and getting a third degree black belt in karate before he graduates from high school. Next we have John Eastman. Uh hello and thank you leadership and board members for this opportunity to speak. Uh my name is John Eastman. I'm a teacher in my 21st year in uh ESUSD. Uh after 14 years at the middle school, I transferred to the high school 7 years ago. I love Elsa Gundo. I love our high school. I love my colleagues. They're outstanding teachers and individuals. Um most of all, I love our students. I love Gundo so much that both my kids uh came here for high school instead of going to Mira Costa. Even though we live in Manhattan Beach, there's no place on earth I'd
016rather be. I'm speaking tonight because I'm hoping that our future will continue to be as amazing as our present. I think the best way to do that is to retain our great educators by treating us well. Last year, wages in America increased by almost 4%. The teachers of our district got a 1% raise. My retro check was $257 and some change. While inflation increased by only three about 3%, our district healthcare costs increased much more than that. We're losing buying power and I'm here to ask for a raise for our teachers. After getting only a 1% increase last year, our bargaining team asked for a 5 and a half% increase this year. The district countered with another 1% offer. Districts around us have negotiated for far more than that. I know the state has a
017deficit and there's only so much money to go around to come here, but we're different. Uh two years ago, the district paid 16 of our most senior teachers a bonus to retire so the district could replace them with newer teachers at half their salary. We got some great new teachers, but we lost hundreds of years of experience. The same year at the middle school, we changed the schedule from an 8 period day to a sixth period day, allowing for a reduction of about six to eight full-time teachers at that site. Those two factors had to greatly reduce the overall uh teacher salary in our district. Which makes me wonder if the district uh can only afford a 1% raise, would you be asking us to take a pay cut if we hadn't had those two
018reductions two years ago? Last year was the only time in my 21 years here that I voted no on a contract. I didn't think 1% was fair, and I don't think asking for 5% this year is too much. Please do what you can to treat our teachers and students right and keep our school district the best in all the land. Thank you. So the next set of cards are agendaized items. They get five minutes each. I do want to ask when I call your name if you want to speak now or do you want to wait until the agenda item comes up which is again agenda item action item 7B. So you will have the option if you want to wait you can simply not when I call your name or not approach the mic
019and I will save your card until the agenda section. We'll start with Emily Manning Barton again. Five minutes. Good evening. My name is Emily Manning Barton and I have been a lead teacher at the Learning Connection for 5 years. I am here today to speak about the proposed reduction in hours for lead teachers and how this decision will significantly affect our program and most importantly our students. I want to begin by saying that this is not an it is not easy for me to stand up here today. I would be dishonest if I said I wasn't concerned about the potential retaliation for speaking openly. However, I believe it is important to advocate for our students, our families, and the integrity of this program. Remaining silent would not align with my responsibility as an educator. On
020February 11th, we were informed that our daily hours would be reduced from 8 hours to 6 and a half. When we asked for clarification regarding the re reasoning behind this decision, we were told that the 8-hour schedule was originally implemented as a temporary measure during COVID related adjustments and that the reduction is now being made in interest of fiscal responsibility and overall program needs. Oh no, my pages. Let's see. I would like to Oh, you know what? I messed up. However, when we were h rehired during the pandemic under the 8-hour schedule, our contracts did not state that this schedule was temporary. There was no language indicating that the 8-hour workday would later be reduced. For the past several years, we have operated under the understanding that 8 hours was our standard schedule. This change
021repres uh represents not just a scheduling adjustment but a modification to the terms under which we are employed. I would also like to address what program needs truly looks like in practice. By reducing our hours by an hour and a half each day, we are losing approximately 30 hours per month of prep time. Those hours are not idle time. They are used to create monthly calendars and lesson plans, prepare hands-on projects, decorate classrooms to create welcoming and engaging environments, order and organize supplies, and communicate with parents and school day teachers to ensure consistency and support for each child. Without this time, the quality of programming will inevitably decline. Projects will become simpler, planning will become rushed, communication may be delayed, and the enriching environment families expect from this program will be harder to sustain. In
022addition, our responsibilities extend far beyond the regular school day. We work through Thanksgiving break, winter break, spring break, and summer break. During those times, we are responsible for keeping children engaged, entertained, and safe for nine hours a day. That level of programming requires thoughtful preparation, structured activities, and careful supervision. This program is funded directly by the tuition collected monthly from parents whose children are enrolled. During the 2024 2025 school year, the learning connection collected close to $2.6 million in tuition alone in addition to over $400,000 in ELOP state funding. Families are making a significant financial investment in this program and they expect a highquality well ststructured experience in return. Reducing lead teachers hours does not reduce expectations. It does not reduce enrollment. It does not reduce the need for strong supervision, engaging activities or clear
023communication. It simply reduces the time we have to meet those expectations. I respectfully ask the board to reconsider this decision or provide greater transparency regarding how this reduction aligns with student needs, staff retention, and long-term program sustainability. Our goal is the same as yours, to provide a safe, enriching, highquality program for our students. Adequate preparation time is not an extra. It is essential to maintaining the standard our families and children deserve. When we reduce preparation, we reduce opportunity. And our students should never be the ones who pay the price for that decision. Thank you for your time and consideration. Next, we have Kora Avon. Hello, my name is Kora Avon, a fifth grader at Richmond Street School. I am here on behalf of the children who attend TLC. I have attended TLC before and afterare
024since August of 2020. I spent my kindergarten Zooms in the TLC classrooms and over time grew my relationship with all the TLC teachers. Miss Danny, Miss Rose, and Miss Emily have done so much for me and made my childhood so much more fun and memorable. They have always been there for me when I'm down and have listened to me when I need someone to talk to. They provide fun activities and parties while making sure everyone is laughing and having fun. The teachers provide individual Christmas and holiday gifts for all the kids and things like scrapbooks and personalized keychains, which my parents still embarrassingly use. By using by losing this prep time, these activities will no longer be possible, making less projects and quality slowly declining, making these fun moments not possible for the next years
025to come. Taking away this time affects the kids of Elsagundo district and not in a positive way. The prep time this prepares the teachers to plan the day for 256 students of only Richmond Street School that go to TLC. TLC has provided me and kids alike safety, care, and amazing memories for the year. Please reconsider taking away these hours from the TLC program. Thank you. Next, we have Suzanne Lipcom. Okay. Hello. My name is Suzanne Lipscom and I've been a lead teacher at TLC for 12 years. I'm speaking tonight because of the proposed reduction in our hours from 8 to 6.5. I'm one of the longest serving leads currently affected by this change. I've been here through multiple versions of this program, including the old 6.5 hour model, the COVID transition when we were the
026first district employees sent back in person with children in October 2020 before vaccines, and the expansion into the program we run today. Before COVID, I worked as a 6.5 hour lead. In 2020, like all TLC staff, I was laid off and later rehired at 8 hours as the program reopened. At that time, there may have been uncertainty about the long-term structure, but what happened afterward matters. Over more than half a decade, the district made repeated decisions that expanded our role and invested in the program. Expectations increased. We were asked to provide more planning, documentation, and intentional programming for students. Leads continued to be hired at eight hours, even as recently as this past August. Those are not temporary decisions. Those are deliberate choices that shaped how the program operates today. As a result, CLC today
027is very different from what it used to be. Families expect and receive a higher [clears throat] quality program. Activities, materials, and communication all require preparation time behind the scenes. I want to speak honestly from my own experience. When I previously worked under a 6.5 hour schedule, the only way I could consistently deliver high-quality activities was by coming in early or staying late without pay. The expectations placed on leads today are significantly higher than they were then. If hours are reduced while expectations stay the same, the reality becomes either unpaid labor or reduced program quality. Neither is a good outcome for staff or for families. After more than five years of an eight-hour schedule, staff reasonably understood this to be the established model. The proposed change is not minor. For many leads, it represents roughly an
028$8,000 annual loss in income. That impacts program stability because in because experienced staff may not be afford able to afford to stay. And for many of us, prep time isn't optional downtime. It's operational time. I don't work out of a dedicated space. I share with a classroom teacher. Materials have to be organized, transported across campus to and from storage, and prepared so they can be set up quickly for large groups of students every day. That work doesn't disappear just because the schedule changes. I also want to point out one specific operational concern. Mondays function differently than other days. On minimum days, if hours are cut, staff and children will arrive at exactly the same time. There will be no setup window. The explanation that this change won't affect children doesn't match that reality. I'm expected
029to have everything ready for 48 first graders at a tent in the middle of campus when the children arrive every day. And I truly don't see how that's possible. My main point tonight is this. The district spent years building this version of TLC. Staff adapted to that direction and families now rely on that level of programming. Describing the eight-hour model as temporary doesn't match the decisions that were made over the past several years. I'm asking the board to take a closer look at this decision, not just as a staffing adjustment, but in terms of what the district has intentionally built and what families now expect from this program. Thank you. Next we have Madison Welker. Hello, my name is Madison Wilker and I'm a fourth grade student at Center Street School. This is my third
030year at TLC and I want to share why I think this is an amazing program. Because of my parents work hours, my brother and I are often at TLC from just after 6:30 a.m. until just before 6:00 p.m. This means that I spend just as much time, if not more, time with my TLC teachers than I do with my classroom teachers. From the time we come in bright and early before school, the teachers have engaging activities that create a fun, organized, and safe environment. After school, we students are lucky to have food prep and Jeopardy games with Mr. Bailey and Mr. Renzo, lanyard making with Miss Shantel, and Minute to Win games, escape rooms, and arts and crafts with Miss Kelsey. We students know that this is only possible with the hard work and time
031our teachers dedicate to our enrichment. That is what makes TLC so great. Thank you for your time and for taking all the needs of our TLC students into consideration. And lastly, we have Renzo Valente. Good evening to the board of education. I also like to extend a good evening to the community behind me. My name is Renzo Valente and I'm a current TLC lead teacher at Senn Street Elementary School. I've been a part of program for about three years now and I'm also a proud graduate of the ESUSC system, graduating back in 2019. I'm here to discuss the proposed 1.5 hour reduction that is being proposed um against teacher hours and it lasting impact it will have on teachers and students alike. To be completely frank with the people in this room, I love my
032job. You can ask any of the people in my life and they'll tell you how much I enjoy this profession. So when I say I was blindsided walking into a quick 30 minute meeting with our head of HR and our executive director and director, it's an understatement. We were showered with the constant pleasantries of we appreciate you. Thank you for your effort, your dedication, and your willingness to to show up for your class. But in rather than focusing on the issues that have been affecting our program, you slap us with the reality that our hours are being reduced. Rather giving us clear answers of why this is happening, you were focused on uh no no real explanation. You told us that our hours are being reduced due to program needs. To be completely frank with
033the people in this room, again, I still don't know what that means. Instead of focusing on the problems of understaffing that we have at TLC Center Street or the oversized classrooms or the lack of permanent classrooms, they focus on the reduction of hours that is being presented to us. I want to do the best I can for my class. I want to be I want to do what I can. But with this reduction in prep hours, it severely hinders that. In addition, the pay that we'll be losing not only affects us in the literal sense, but for us as educators, it's going to be preventing us from even continuing working here. To many of us, this program is more than a daycare program. When I'm asked, "What do I do for my job?" I don't
034just say daycare. I also say an enrichment program. We provide so many incredible, thoughtful, and interesting things for our students. art activities, food prep, and other things that make our students and our parents and our community love us. But with the loss in this time, we're we'll truly be unable to give this full experience to our students. With the reduction in TLC prep hours and hours in general, well, not we'll turn into a program that simply is just watching children. And to be honest with the board, if this is the type of direction we're leading into, I heavily implore you to reduce TLC rates because there's no reason for parents to be paying exorbitant amount of money for a program that's essentially me standing in a room watching 28 children. [sighs] I believe I believe
035we're so lucky as a district that we have so many alumni in this room that have chosen to work again for this district. But for us former alumni that work at TLC, this proposal shows that the district does not care about this community that that we care so deeply about. Additionally, there's this narrative that keeps being pushed that this 1.5 was always a temporary increase due to CO. But to be completely frank, CO was in 2020, 21, 22, but in that time I was not working here. I was still almost I was fresh out of high school. That's not the reality I'm I entered into. Why is the reverse happening now? That's my question. Upon being hired here, I was never told that my hours were a temporary change. This is what the frustration is
036facing to many of us as TLC staff members and lead teachers. This program brought in well more well this program brought well over $2.5 million in parent funds. And if we do the rough math, about five students tuitions pays for me and my aids uh paychecks. But where does the other 28 tuitions go? 28 students in my class tuitions go with our monthly budget already being reduced. I really don't understand what is the point of this reduction. I'm imploring the board to be seriously reconsider the changes and to look into where the funds are truly going because I clearly don't see it. I love this job and I love this community and I love my students so much more. I really don't want to be forced out of this job because I can't afford to
037live. I love this community. I love my students and I love this job. Thank you so much for your time and I really want to thank the community who stood behind me today because I believe that is what makes our community special. Thank you. Thank you for all of your comments. We will now move to section four of the agenda. Moving with 4A, student representative Maddie. [clears throat] >> Good evening. Good evening everyone. I hope everyone is enjoying the end of February. Last week, I attended the Superintendent Advisory Council meeting where student representatives shared some exciting news from across ESUSD. From RSS, they recently had their 100th [clears throat] day of school celebration. And from CSS, they had the canned food drive last semester and now and are now in the process of planning a
038beach cleanup. At ESMS, they had the winter ball where ASB sold over 380 tickets. Spring sports are starting as well with the inaugural season of softball. ASB at the high school recently, meaning yesterday, had the pleasure of hosting Japanese exchange students. Each ASB student was paired with a buddy who attended their classes and of course ASB where we played a very heated game of musical chairs. Here are some words from our ASB members on their experience. Partnering with my buddy was a memorable experience that introduced me to the challenges of language barrier and strengthened my appreciation for meaningful communication. My buddy gave me insight into teenage culture in Japan. This opened my eyes to a new perspective of life and reminded me that despite our differences, we still have a lot in common. I think
039it I speak for all of ASB in saying it was a fantastic experience and we hope to participate in the participate in the years to come. Today at lunch we had a black student unionled mac and cheese cookoff honoring 100 years of ca c celebrating black history month. Upcoming we have our annual UCLA blood drive on March 3rd all day in the north gym and I encourage everyone to go donate. You are saving three lives with your pint of blood. Some upcoming ways to support your students on our campus. We have the teen body image presentation for parents which we are hosting in the pack on March 2nd and the motivational mindset student seminar on March 4th. And that is all for my report. Next we will move to 4B of the agenda. Do we
040have any representatives from ESTA? similar to last time. You shouldn't clap till you hear me speak. [snorts] But moving on, no, it's no different. You've obviously heard a bunch of poignant people that were passionate about what they believe in. And so that's going to be no different than myself. However, the as you've come to know from me prior to last school year to this school year, things have definitely evolved and morphed into something quite different. However, with that being said, we'll get into this, which obviously I should have started with a good evening evening to the board and all the other representatives here that are here. Um, I just want to take a moment to recognize the dedication, the hard work of our board. The time, thought, and care you put into decisions does not
041go unnoticed. What stands out most is your consistent focus on students. Every conversation, every challenge, and every solution centers on what is best for kids, and that's deeply what matters to all of us educators. On behalf of our membership, I also want to reaffirm my commitment to continuing to work collab collaboratively and respectfully with you. My goal is simple to ensure educators feel valued, supported, and appreciated because when our staff feels appreciated, respected, heard, our students benefit. We are proud to serve Elsa Unified and will continue to advocate on behalf of our members so that this remains a place where talented educators want to grow and stay. Thank you for your partnership and your commitment to our schools. And this is probably the latest I've ever gotten out of here. So enjoy. Thank you. Do
042we have a representative from CSCA? Good evening board president, members of the board, superintendent in the community. My name is Carlos Gutierrez, the president of CACA Elsuguno chapter 71, representing the classified professionals who keep Elsaguno Unified running, our PAR educators, custodians, nutrition services, office staff, maintenance, IT, and many more. I also would like to take this time to introduce my new VP, Miss Leilani Talenoa, and our labor representative, Levi Barry Wells. We are currently in negotiations with the district to modernize and update job descriptions across all classifications. This work is essential. Our people are asked to do more with new technology and responsibilities. that didn't exist when many descriptions were last revised. [snorts] Clear, accurate job descriptions protect students and staff, align expectations, and create fair pathways for training, advancement, and evaluation. We are also
043preparing to sunshine our initial proposal for successor contract negotiation. Sorry. Our priorities are straightforward and student centered. One, increase the longevity incentive. Two, secure fair competitive compensation that reflects the skills, responsibilities, and professionalism of our teams. And three, stabilize recruitment and retention so students have consistent experience support every day. On compensation, we want to be clear in the current economic climate, wages must keep pace with the real cost of living and with regional labor markets. When districts fall behind, vacancies grow, turnovers rise, and services suffer, costing more in the long run. We look forward to a package that is fiscally responsible and genuinely competitive. Our classified members are very dedicated to maintaining a safe, clean, and functional learning environment for our students. Thank you for your time and for partnering with us to invest in
044the people who serve our students every day. And in honor of Black History Month, I would like to end with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. The time is always right to do the right thing. Thank you. Good evening board and community. My name is Levi Barry Wells with the California School Employees Association and I'm here tonight to introduce myself and to stand in full solidarity with our classified members, certificated colleagues and learning connection staff and of course the students and families of Elsagundo Unified. I just want to reiterate on behalf of our membership that classified staff are essential to the student success and school operations. They open classrooms and offices, keeps campuses clean and safe, support instruction and student services, prepare and serve meals, troubleshoot technology, maintain facilities and grounds, and ensure that
045family-f facing services run smoothly. When classified work is strong and stable, students benefit every day. Echoing President Gutierrez's remarks, we believe a meaningful increase in compensation is necessary to recruit, retain, and retain the skilled professionals our students rely on, reflecting the real cost of living and the responsibilities our members carry. On behalf of CSEA Chapter 71, we're committed to supporting our members so they can continue providing essential services that keep schools safe, welcoming, and functioning every single day. We value our partnership with the district and the broader community. And we remain dedicated to working collaborative collaboratively towards solutions that strengthen our schools and uplift the workers that serve them. Thank you. Next, we'll move to section 4C and that is the Richmond Street School recognition. Miss Alashian. Good evening, board members, Superintendent Dr. Johnson and
046members of cabinet. I'm Carrie Olesam, proud principal of Richmond Street School and I'm grateful for this opportunity to recognize one of our students. Each year, Richmond Street School participates in Scripps' National Spelling Bee Program. Beginning right after winter break, our fourth and fifth grade students compete in classroom rounds to determine who will advance to the schoolwide B. On January 23rd, 16 students showcased their knowledge and composure in the 2026 Richmond Street Spelling Bee. Students competed in front of their families and all of the fourth and fifth grade students. After a very competitive event, fifth grader Noah Gilmore's dedication and hard work paid off as he rose to the top and earned the title of 2026 Richmond Street School spelling bee champion. Tonight, we are proud to recognize Noah for this achievement. I'd like to invite
047him to share a few words about his journey. Hi, I'm Noah Gilmore. I'm a fifth grader in Miss Brook's class. Um, I'm going to share the story of how I won the spelling bee for RSS. Firstly, we started in class competitions and the rules were that we all started standing up and if you got out, you would sit down. In the end, I won on the word zombie. Like, there were two winners from every class who moved on to the school spelling be. Me and my friend Rawill moved on to the school spelling be from Miss Brooks's class. I got the packet for the school spelling be and I practiced whenever I had free time. The technique I used was I would spell the word to my mom and dad and if I got it
048wrong, they would circle it and we would go on to the next word. Two days before the school spelling be, I wrote down all the words I got incorrect. And the day before the B, my mom tested me on all the ones I circled. On the day of the spelling be, I brought the words to school and I practiced the circled words whenever I had free time. In this spelling bee, number my number was seven. There were 16 competitors, eight fourth graders, and eight fifth graders, two from each class. We went through five rounds, and at the end of the sixth round, it was just me and my friend Rayan left. We went back and forth for another five rounds. It felt so long. And then eventually Railen got out and I was left and
049spelled guttural correctly to finish the round and move on to the championship word. The judges went over the winning word and the pronouncer made me spell corer. Then I spelled it correctly. I was very surprised because the word the pronouncer said sounded more like carrier. But I took a guess because the championship word was determined from the packet. After I ran to my parents and then I hugged them and we took a picture with my teacher, Miss Brooks, and everyone started chanting my name. Thank you for your time. And then stay in place. We're going to come down and take a picture with you right in front. Oh, no. You're fine. >> Here we go. Right here. >> You got it. >> Thank you. Next, we'll move to agenda item 4D, and that's the child
050nutrition expansion proposal. Miss Mononttoya. Good evening, Vice President Weaten and members of the board. Superintendent Dr. Johnson. Tonight I'm sharing an update on our nutrition services program and how we are using the resources we currently have to make meals more accessible, more student centered and fiscally sustainable. I'll begin with a brief overview of our one-time funds and how they are being invested to expand access and improve efficiency. As of today, the nutrition program has approximately $1.5 million in excess funds that the state requires us to spend down over five years. We have developed a plan that will focus on creating a custom program through access and availability. We see modernization and student appeal as our priority. Right now, the majority of our students are not looking to nutrition services as their first or second choice.
051We are beginning phase one at the high school because currently it has the lowest participation rate, which gives us the greatest opportunity to grow. Starting at the cafeteria, we will reimagine the layout for a fresh style service with a made to order model. that gives the students more choices similar to a Chipotle or Subway style service. Outside the cafeteria is our walk up service area and we'll use those windows for pre-orders and grab-and-go service for students that are busy during lunch period with clubs, testing, tutoring, etc. We will also be investing in mobile editions to expand access and create attraction to the food program. We of course will need to invest in staff as we grow and evolve and we have some expansion ideas for service beyond the mobile additions which I'm excited to discuss
052in upcoming slides. Lastly, we will add a quick cafe for breakfast and lunch. This addition allows students who are on the opposite side of campus to easily access meals. These changes to our existing program aim to reduce weight times, expand access, and create a more customized experience for students. Our next slide provides an overview of our planned expanded service areas. The green X marks the planned location for our quick cafe, which will serve breakfast and lunch on the Mariposa entrance. The yellow X's are located are are locations for our expanded breakfast before the bell service, which includes using the quick cafe to serve students before school. The red X's mark the quad locations that are planned for our mobile trucks. The picture in the upper right hand corner shows where we'll park the EV trucks
053at the back of our district offices. Now, let me introduce you to our mobile expansion fleet. The fleet will include three customized wrap trucks. One truck will have a tow hitch for that grill on the bottom left. The truck will be for pop-up barbecues throughout the year. The other two trucks will be stationed in the quad areas, both quads. The red cart pictured in the middle will be a trolley style service that we will take around campus to reach any students who didn't have a chance to grab lunch. [snorts] At the bottom right is our quick cafe which will we will customize with student logo or school logos, excuse me. And these are just examples of what's to come. The next slide discusses a culture change. Right now the students use nutrition services as an
054alternative as an alter alternative. We want students to get excited and think of school lunch first. We start by reintroducing them to nutrition services by being present at back to school and open house with samples and information for families. starting a lunch club that creates an opportunity for student input on menu and service ideas. We're giving students more access to food. It should feel open and inviting. This is their food, their program, a program built for students and we feel should be led by students. I'm here to keep us compliant and to cultivate the vision for students when it comes to nutrition services on campus. As we evolve and continue to change the culture, we're going to start serving breakfast before the bell, giving students access to meals before school so they can start the
055day fueled and ready to go. Implement share tables for items that students may not want. They can leave the items on the share table for others to take and enjoy as a second chance throughout the day. Launch a mobile ordering service so students can pre-order lunch and pick up at various locations on campus. Prior to bringing this proposal to the board tonight, we did a trial of expanding service and in both scenarios we we saw an immediate increase in participation. The takeaway from the trial is that when meals are visible and convenient, student participation increases. Here's a detailed cost breakdown of everything I've talked about today, totaling just under a half a million dollars that we will use in those one-time funds. Our next slide shows an ongoing the ongoing staffing costs. We will need
056to invest into our kitchens by hiring full and part-time cafeteria workers. We will add a dedicated warehouse driver and a dedicated nutrition services buyer assistant. These positions will not only support our phase one proposal, but will help us take the next steps as we move to selfop in menu planning and ordering. These costs will be paid solely from the cafeteria fund. We did a fiscal analysis to ensure that we can sustain these costs over time. This is our tentative timeline to launch. August is be is our hope to for the target month. And as our next slide comes through and our last slide, we look to next year. We will expand to the middle school then to the elementary schools. What you see here is an analysis with associated costs. Thank you. >> Okay. Um
057great presentation. Uh, I love the the vision. Um, what I'm wondering is, uh, with the multiple locations, um, are we going to end up with a situation where kids are eating all over the campus and how will we deal with that in terms of, um, you know, the discarding of utensils or plates or paper wraps, that kind of thing? >> So, we we capture each student by a number. So they can they're going to eat where they're at. They can't, you know, get meals on one camp one side of the campus to the other. We we will have to add more uh dis disposable, you know, trash cans and things like that for waste. We did the trial and gauged with the custodial staff, you know, the amount of trash or or time it took
058to clean up and there wasn't an increase in that on that level, but we'll monitor it as we go. But we can always add an a position in custodial through nutrition services if that's a concern. >> Okay. So, um then are you um introducing a lot of more like handheld items? Is that how is going to >> Yeah, with the fresh style service in the cafeteria, they'll be made to order. So, if you want to get a burrito bowl, a burrito, a sandwich, anything you'd like, we'll have multiple items available there. Our grab-and-go service will have a complete meal for those that just need to, you know, take it and go. The students are going to lead the menu. So, with the lunch club, we're going to talk to the students about what they want
059to see on campus, what they'll actually consume. I can think of a ton of choices, but if they're not going to consume it, it really doesn't mean anything. So, the menu is going to be led by them. We're going to start off with the students that want to participate. We'll do surveys and such and talk about what hot items they want, what items capture the students that leave campus and see, hey, do you guys want a smoothie? What are you getting off of at at the folks in on in town? What can we do to capture those meals and get you to uh participate in nutrition services? >> Okay. And one last one. Um I noticed uh before the bell you show it in front of the high school >> and so how would that
060work? So they they would they walk into this building with food or would they eat outside? I stationed right I was actually the station in front of the high school during the trial and I was right right at the door and so as the students were coming in let them know it was available to them and those that would like to participate did and we had great success there. >> Thank you. >> So were they then taking that food to their classrooms? they were taking it in. They can um I'm not sure what the timing was, but we were there well before their bell. Okay. So, >> my other question was you said something about a shared table >> where they leave fruit or whatever they don't want or whatever. Um, do you have a
061kind of an idea or a plan of where maybe some of that food might be able to go back to >> like I mean like maybe to the athletic teams or something that were off on a bus and that could potentially travel um I mean something like that. Have we >> chance for [clears throat] Yes. I'm sorry. U absolutely th this share table we first of all we have to get accustomed to the share table. So we'll have multiple points and teach the students to take so that they can have throughout the day and take the snack for when they need it. Right? So this is a second opportunity for them to continue to have food throughout the day based on their needs. >> You know our the number one thing we always hear from
062students is obviously the food choices. And so I think bringing it back to the students and starting a club. >> I mean, for one, we're involving them. So it's kind of up to them to be a part of it, right? So it's I think it's a great opportunity for them to see that >> their voice matters and that, you know, if they want change, then, you know, join this group and or this club and you'll be able to see it actually out there on campus. Um, and then also I think having the multiple areas where I mean I remember when I was a student there like longer lines and we didn't have I mean this was a long time ago so there wasn't as many opportunities but I think that having you know kids not
063feel like they have to rush over and you know get to the line or you know yeah I mean it's just it's a great ability for them to focus of what's going on in class when they're in class versus okay I got to run out and I got to you know I really am hungry. So I think having those different opportunities of spaces on campus is a great thing for their education as well. So thank you for expanding this. >> Thank you for the comment and that is the goal. You know giving them the opportunity to eat. This is their program and they should take advantage of every breakfast and every lunch entitled to them. >> Thank you. And then the last question that I have is this all sounds great and I'm very excited
064about it but initially when you talked about it since we have been hearing about numbers this evening I thought how are we paying for this and you touched on that I would love the opportunity for you because we brushed over it quickly but I I want to make sure that everyone who's here and anyone who listens later has an understanding and I will also give the floor to Dr. Lind if you would like to jump in. You talked about one-time funds covering this as well as it falling under the cafeteria fund. Would you like to expand on that or Dr. Lind who whoever would like to take that on? >> Yeah. So, uh during our trial we you know we had the increase in in participation. And so we we gauged for that. But what
065we did is we took the numbers back to our existing budget and and the re reimbursements that we get yearly. With the additional staff, we can encompass that cost for the we did a five-year analysis and we can still sustain it without even increasing one meal of what we normally do in a day. So currently with the increased staff we can cover that for years to come without an increase. Now as you see all these exciting things we will start increasing participation and then we can rethink how that looks in staffing because it is an ongoing cost and what we can stain in the f sustain in the future. Now the excess money we have five years to spend. So that means we have to create a plan of investment. So with assessing the program
066and knowing seeing where the students need you know on campus where we could you know kind of insert ourselves based on that I see convenience access. So investing those one-time funds in these this equipment I think is the best place to start. >> And then one clarifying question because when you say excess funds I get excited. Are those excess funds earmarked for the cafeteria only? totally restricted. We are federal. >> Thank you. [laughter] >> Yeah. >> Well, you know, excess is always good when it comes to funds. So, so it is earmarked. So, you have to use it for this purpose and you have devised this plan to use those funds which are already allocated. >> Correct. >> Thank you. >> All right. Next, we move to agenda item 4E and the midyear review of
067the LCAP. Dr. Young. Oh, I heard a woohoo. Okay. All right. Okay. Well, good evening, Vice President Weaton, members of the board, Superintendent Johnson, who is taking this opportunity to take a break, and all in attendance this evening. It is my pleasure to present a midyear report on our local control accountability plan, which is designed to share out our progress on our budgeted expenditures, implementation of our actions, and progress toward our established metrics. You'll recall that the LCAP outlines the district's goals, actions, and use of resources to improve student outcomes and addresses the needs of all students, but particularly our English learners, foster youth, and students from lowincome families. It serves as our district's primary tool for accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement aligned to the state's eight priorities. We are currently in the second year
068of our three-year plan and each year we review, monitor, and evaluate the effectiveness of the actions in meeting our goals. To ground our midyear update, let's begin with a brief overview of the context of our district. Our current enrollment of nearly 3,400 students reflects the diverse student groups identified in our plan, including English learners, socioeconomically disadvantaged students, and homeless students. Our total unduplicated pupil count of those groups is 11.26% of the district. In order to support all of our students, our district employs approximately 444 staff members. And this year's total operating budget is approximately $54 million. Together, these data points help frame how we allocate our fiscal and our human resources in order to measure the impact of our actions across the system. So with that context in mind, we'll briefly revisit our three LCAP
069goals, which guide our work and align to our new district goals. Goal one focuses on highquality teaching and learning. Goal two focuses on parent and community engagement. And goal three is basically everything else that's needed to keep our district running smoothly. Now, I'd like to shift into how our funding impacts the LCAP this year. At the time of our LCAP adoption last June, the state budget act had not yet been finalized. The final state budget included additional learning recovery emergency block grant funds which are one-time in nature and restricted to a specific use which has allowed us to further support key priorities that are identified through our learning recovery emergency block grant needs assessment. These funds identified that we should devote um sorry this needs assessment identified that we should devote these funds towards further
070supporting our English learners and as such at the last board meeting the board took action to apply those funds towards EL program monitoring and oversight. This chart provides a quick summary of how much our district plans to spend this year and how much of that total is tied to planned actions and services within the LCAP. As you can see, the expenditures in the LCAP accounts for approximately 75% of our total budgeted general fund expenditures. Now that we reviewed the overall budget picture and recent funding adjustments, we'll shift into how those resources are being implemented. This site provides a mid-year snapshot of our expenditures. And as you can see, we are on track with our budgeted expenditures at the midpoint in the year. Now that we reviewed how our resources are being allocated and spent, we'll
071shift to our our focus to impact. This next section highlights the progress we're making on the metrics tied to each LCAP goal, allowing us to monitor whether our actions and investments are moving us closer to the outcomes that we set for our students and staff. In highlighting a few metrics pertaining to goal one, student achievement, you see that we have strong student achievement, strong A to G completion, and chronic absenteeism is decreasing. Therefore, we are making great strides in reaching our desired outcome by the end of next year. After reviewing our progress on our metrics, now let's take a closer look at our goal one implementation. In looking at our progress in implementing each action, you see that we have four actions that have already been completed at this point in the year, and all
072other actions are underway and on track to be completed by the end of the year. For goal two, you see that we have strong results from our parent feedback on communication and safety, having already met our desired three-year outcome in some areas. However, we see that we have a decline in percentage of parents reporting that they attended back to school night. We're going to dig deeper into seeing if it's just an issue of parents not reporting accurately that they're attending back to school night. as well as we're going to be implementing surveys after large family and community events to further engage our community to see how we can um increase our participation. In looking at our progress in implementing each action for our second goal, you see that all of our actions are underway and
073are anticipated to be completed by the end of this year. In looking at our metrics for goal three, we continue to receive good or exemplary performance on our facility inspections as well as our annual audits. thus keeping us on track for our desired outcome. And in looking at our progress in implementing each action for our third goal, you see that we have already completed three actions and all but one action is on track to be completed by the end of the year. Regarding action 3.8, this partnership was not renewed this year due to not having a current need for this support. All in all, we're making good progress toward our LCAP goals and accomplishing our established actions for this year. Our next steps in the progress include engaging with our LCAP advisory committee and our
074educational partners in order to revise the plan for its final year. We will work closely with the county office of education on drafting our updated plan to ensure that we're meeting all compliance requirements and will present our updated plan to you for adoption in June. We thank you for your support and engagement in the LCAP process. I welcome any questions or feedback you may have at this time. I I would just like to thank you for all this work. >> Of course, >> I I know how much work this is. I was on the ELCAP committee for a few years and it's a lot a lot of work. So, thank you for all the this was amazing and it looks like we're headed in the right direction. Smooth sailing always the goal. So, thank you.
075>> Of course. My pleasure. Uh just a question on the Alder program. Uh because it's been so successful in our district. Uh >> is it a case that there was no candidate or was it something from the administration side? >> Yeah, sure. Lisa, would you like to share? >> It was a combination of both. there wasn't the need this year and we have actually we're a pipeline too um for uh student teachers and so we have a lot of student teachers um that are looking to come into our district as well in the past our older program has filled a need um but this year they didn't reach out to renew and nor did we have a high need as well um for placement and so it's something we'll definitely continue to explore in the
076future but this year it just wasn't renewed. >> Do we do outreach? >> I'm sorry. Do we do any kind of outreach to, you know, potential candidates >> there? Actually, they reach out to us. Like, like I said, it's we're a highly desired district and so we have often have individuals um looking to come into our district. So, >> um I may be wrong about this, but do older um candidates come from within the district? Generally, >> they can. Yes. um I can look and get, you know, feedback um to you in regards to what it has looked like in the past, but I know it's been a combination of both from what my understanding is. >> Thank you. >> All right. Next, we will move to the consent agenda. Do I have any motions?
077I move consent um items A through uh I approval. >> Second. >> All right. Any discussion? >> All right. We'll move on to vote. Maddie, may I have your preferential vote? >> I. >> Board members in favor. >> I. >> Motion passes four to zero. We will now move on to action item six, business services. These will all be presented by Dr. Linds, but we'll do them one by one. Starting with 6A. >> Yes. This contract would allow us to um work with CalStar Engineering to complete construction tasks outside the scope of work for 2H construction, saving the district both time and money. I recommend approval. >> So moved. Second. Any discussion? Maddie, may I have your preferential vote? >> I. >> All board members in favor? >> I. >> Motion carries four to zero.
078Next action item 6B. Yes, this is a deductive change order, meaning money is coming back to the district. It does address all change orders to date with 2H construction for the Eagles Nest Arena High School district office modernization project. It also returns the allow any allowances owed to the district as well. Um I recommend approval. >> I move approval for item action item 6B. >> Second. Any discussion? >> Maddie, may I have your preferential vote? I. >> All board members in favor. >> I. Those against. Motion carries four to zero. Next we have action item 6 C. This item would allow Breit View to come in and do planting and landscaping of droughtresistant plants for the Eagles Nest Arena District Office modernization project. I recommend approval. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Any discussion? Maddie,
079may I have your preferential vote? I >> all board members in favor >> I. >> Those who oppose motion carries four to zero. Next we have action items seven which will all be represented by Miss V from human resources. We'll start individually with 7A. This action item is a revised job description for the program specialist special education position. The revision updates the role to better reflect the district's priorities and evolving needs of the special education program around program leadership, compliance, oversight, staff collaboration and support, and the coordination of services. I recommend approval. >> I move approval of action item 7A. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> Maddie, may I have your preferential vote? >> I. >> All board members in favor, >> I. Those who oppose. Motion carries. Four to zero. Next we will move
080to action item four, excuse me, 7B. This action item is a resolution to reduce the work hours of 14 TLC lead teacher positions from 8 hours to 6.5 hours per day effective August 20th, 2026. This reflects the conclusion of a temporary 1.5 hour increase that was implemented to support a hybrid schedule following the return from CO. The reduction returns these positions to their original schedule. I recommend approval. I am going to turn it over to Dr. Ch Johnson who has more to add at this point. >> Thank you, Miss Phil. um board. I value TLC teachers, aids, administrative staff, and custodians who serve the program. My children's TLC teachers and aids make my kids feel loved. And God bless Miss Jackie and her team because Teddy is a lot to love. Kelsey, God bless her,
081too, but Matilda's easier. I value TLC so much so that I have my kids in TLC and I only want the best for my kids and the children of Elsagundo. And that value for one program must be balanced with all programs, staff and students across Elsagundo Unified School District. Approximately 510 students out of 3,400 students are served by TLC in our district. This is one of the most important and enrolled programs in Elsagundo. Decisions about this program have my full attention. And so I would like to share what, if any, impact it will have on students it serves, including my own children. I want to share the why behind the decision, what it changes and what it doesn't, and how we'll continue supporting both students and teachers. What is changing and when? Beginning in the
0822627 school year, TLC teachers shifts will move from eight hours per day to 6 hours per day. Why was this decision made? The 8-hour schedule was a temporary increase put in place during the CO era when hybrid schedules created unusual staffing needs across the day. That increase was funded using one-time COVID emergency dollars. At this point, the district no longer operates hybrid schedules, so the staffing model that required the expanded shifts is no longer needed. The one-time COVID funds are no longer available and ongoing staffing structures must be supported by ongoing funding sources. Importantly, the 1.5 hours being reduced is time when students are not present because there are no students in TLC during that 1.5 hour window. The reduction is not tied to supervision needs or studentf facing programs. What will not be affected
083and I want to be very clear about this point. TLC staffing and student supervision will not be impacted by this change. The reduction is not reducing coverage during student attendance times. TLC students will continue to be supported with appropriate staffing throughout the program day. Planning and prep time. Another important clarification is that TLC teachers will still have meaningful planning time built into their day. TLC teachers were scheduled 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. That schedule included time that was not actually being used for student programming and reflected an outdated structure from a prior period. With the updated schedule, TLC teachers will still have approximately 1.5 hours per day for prep and planning time. That planning time remains available and is intended to support strong activity planning, organization, and program quality.
084To provide context around the student attendance edges of the day, this does not include the early late windows when student attendance is typically very small, approximately 6:30 to 7:15 a.m. about 1 to two students per class, and 5:15 to 6:00 p.m. about 3 to five students per class. program structure and student experience. TLC's planned activity is typically about 1 hour and 30 minutes with much of the remaining time spent in valuable developmentally appropriate components of afterchool care such as homework support, outdoor free play, games, and unstructured activities. That balance is the normal part of a high quality extended day programs. and the schedule adjustment does not reduce student time in TLC or change TLC's ability to run those activities effectively. Retention and supporting our TLC team. We recognize that any schedule can raise concerns about
085morale and retention. Our commitment is to implement this change thoughtfully and to continue supporting TLC staff and program quality. While TLC and classroom teaching are different roles, it may be helpful context that even with the adjustment, TLC teachers will have to have more will have more daily planning time than general education teachers typically have. TLC teachers will have 1.5 hours per day planning time. Elementary teachers have 30 to 45 minutes on average while delivering a full day of planned standardsbased instruction. Going a step further, TLC teachers will have more preparation time than any teacher in the district, including middle and high school teachers. We will also be working with our TLC team to ensure expectations for planning time are clear and realistic. staff have tools and support they need to plan engaging activities efficiently. We
086maintain a strong, stable TLC program that families can rely on and bringing more contracted vendors in order to provide high engagement activities such as Mad Science, Bubble Mania, Yogativity, and the classic chess. Thank you again to our parents and staff for advocating for TLC. I recommend an approval for action item 7B. Thank you. Do we have a motion? >> So moved. >> Do we have a second? Second. Any discussion? >> Yeah. I'd like to know a little more about um the financial situation with TLC. So is um is TLC a profit center, a loss leader? Um, does it break even? So, where does TLC stand? >> Our goal for the program is to break even on the program. You like because it does not serve all of our students. You like and if you would
087like a detailed financial breakdown, we can provide that in a board update. >> But you must have an idea. Is it making a profit now or is it losing money? >> Kim, would you like to speak to that? I don't have those numbers right off the top of my head right now. I can certainly get them to you in the Friday update though, the board update. >> So, I mean, okay, there what the conversation has been is that the tuition money that they're paying is what is paying for the program and that the district is not coming out of pocket of general fund >> for anything. Is that correct? So, it's as simple as the tuition money is covering the program at this point. >> That is the goal of our finances around the program.
088>> Do we have any more discussion? Well, I would like to say that um it's very moving to see so many of the teachers come in and talk passionately about the students that they serve. And um I I I've lived here, but we we didn't use TLC. We knew about it. Um and uh being the com kind of community that we are um it's something that's very important to people who are actually deciding to come and live in our community that they have that available to them because to to live in Elsagundo a lot of times you need to have two people working and you can't always um be there to pick up your kid right after school. So, it's um a super important part of our district. And um I I just I just
089feel that when people come in and say like they feel like we're unsupportive or of, you know, what they're doing for us. It's it's totally not the case. We we love, respect, and cherish all of those teachers for for what they do for our district. >> I I was pleased to see a few of our graduates said that they were graduates and and they are in fact a couple of my students. So, um I understand how important this is. I do. Um and we do we do love our our staff. So, um, this is a decision that that we are going to make based on what we know and what we are are trying to achieve as a as a whole district. So, >> going to add something. >> Yeah. Um I I do it's
090very difficult for me um to take away from people who've been serving us so well >> especially um I think it was Renzo was it >> uh who was hired um in an eight hour position and apparently was never explained to him that that was um on a temporary basis. I think in the district's communication to Renzo, it was clear that this was the job he is signing up for. And in all of our lives, um we we operate based on what our income is. Um we rent apartments based on how much we earn. We We live a lifestyle based on how much we earn. We plan trips. Everything about us is about how much we earn. And then to suddenly tell somebody you're going to earn 20% less, it's it's a a lifechanging experience.
091And um I feel that as a district we've made um a contract with these people to to pay them a certain amount and and that they deserve to maintain it. And if it's something where going forward we don't make that contract with anybody new coming in, I think that would be a better way forward for us. So Frank, with your comments, did you have a question about the open motion on the floor? >> No. >> Okay. >> I I do I do remember reading I've read a lot of emails and a lot of things in the last week or two. um somewhere that there is the potential of possibly um some of our lead teachers being able to to still continue to work on campus um as maybe uh I don't know I don't recess
092or new supervisors or some of those that would at least help with some of the financial um cost if they like like you'd said they they budget a certain way. Is that a possibility? Um that yes, it would be lost prep time, but they would still potentially could make up for some of the financial. >> We've shared with TLC staff that non supervision andor food service workers positions would be made available to them if they so choose. I just have a question though with that. What would be the difference if they stayed in their position that they're in now and then the district switching them to noon supervisor or um lunch supervisor >> on the highest step and on the highest years of service. The difference would be $10 per hour delta. >> So I
093have three questions. The first one is on the contracts where people are hired, do we have a clause in there that says the district has the ability to modify salary or hours post employment? Is that language anywhere in there? If we don't have it, you can definitely get back to me on that. >> Do you want to take that? I can answer if you can there. So, so all contracts that are signed mean like you know are subject to ed code. Ed code provides legal parameters for districts to reduce its force. This would apply to any staff uh certificated teachers, classified teachers. So the the idea that a contract would negate a district's ability to conduct reduction of staff is not consistent with the law. Not necessarily reduction of staff. I'm asking about reduction of
094hours. Most some contracts actually do have the discretion in there. That's what I'm asking. >> No, but reduction of hours under ED code is still considered the same as reduction of staff. The legal language is layoff regardless. >> My next question is you this was set up the reduction or excuse me the increase from 6.5 to 8 hours was set up under the one-time funds umbrella. So it was clearly communicated. >> I was not an administrator at that time, so I'm not aware of how it was communicated. My understanding from talking with prior administrative staff is that it was conducted as a one-time COVID increase. TLC staff was TLC staff was laid off and they were rehired as 8our employees in relation to the hybrid schedules for CO. And then my last question is what
095is the earliest we can have a program cost analysis to see if it is break even or if it costs or if we have a profit. Kim >> I can have an analysis in the as as in the update this week >> unless they need >> we'll follow up to give you a timeline by Friday. Okay. Does the board have any follow-up questions? >> Are we basing I mean that's very important information. So are we wanting to wait on this decision so that way we have all the information in front of us >> or do we want to vote? I don't know how that works. I'm going to table motion. >> Table motion. We'd have to redo this. >> That is an option. My question is I'm posing the question. So where where are we?
096Are you ready to take it to vote or >> or do you want to table this motion the current motion that's on the floor? >> I'm actually getting to the point of maybe tableabling the motion for Okay. So if we Let me back this up. >> All right. So, when is our next when is our next meeting? And March 12th. >> That's correct. >> Would that be too late? Um, >> March 10th. So, would that be too late to make a decision? Well, but March is always a crazy month of [clears throat] >> Lisa. >> It would still be inside the timeline. >> Okay. >> So, we can either take it to vote or I can have a motion to modify the motion that's on the floor. >> Would you like to modify it since
097you brought it up? >> Oh, my motion. I'm sorry. I You're right. I'm sorry. Uh I would like to modify my motion um and put this on the table till our next meeting so that we can get a better understanding of whether we are breaking even or where that is is lying if we're coming out of general fund. Um, if we did do Wait, you don't have Oh, yeah. Never mind. Okay, I'll wait. That's my motion. My new motion. >> Do I have a second? >> Second. >> All right. So, the motion is to The motion is now to table this for this meeting and move it to our next meeting. That's the motion, right? So now we can have a discussion for a second >> because we second already. >> So my second question
098would be >> discussion >> my second would be question would be if we find that the program is kind of like break even. Um, and then we needed to potentially add hours to help make our people whole. Um, would that then come out of general fund at that point? Would those funds I'm just I'm just curious if that would then become like where does the like noon supervision and and all of those come out? What fund do those come out of? >> So, if it was food service, it would come out of the cafeteria fund, which is a restricted fund. >> Okay. >> If it was playground supervisors, it would come out of the general fund. >> Okay. Just curious where that where those funds would come in relation to the TLC. >> are you
099asking for a breakdown of funds of those positions or are we just trying to see a cost? >> I think we could get those at the same time. I mean, I think >> I just want to make sure we ask him for what we want here. >> Yeah. I mean, I think we could if we could get those two to see how that would >> So, I I think you're right, Meredith. I think the first thing that we have to look at before we look at any of the other funds is where does this program stand independently? What is the cost to the district? What is if there is an additional cost? If there if we break even or if we have a profit, those are all the things that we need to look at.
100So is there a deficit that we have to make up for? Do we break even or do we have a profit? From there then we can assess what the next steps are and and any data on attrition from the program. We'd like to see that too. >> All right. Any other questions? At this point, we'll take it to vote. Maddie, may I have your preferential vote? >> This is on updated. >> This is the updated motion. >> I >> Okay. Board members in favor. >> I. Those who oppose? >> Motion carries four to zero. The matter will be tabled. Next, we'll move to action item 7C. We're still with Miss Bill. This next action item is an update to salary schedule A for certificated management. The revision reflects the addition of the newly revised program
101specialist special education position to the certificated management classification and its placement on the salary schedule. I recommend approval. >> So moved. >> Second. Any discussion? Maddie, may I have your preferential vote? >> I. >> All in favor? >> I. Those who oppose. >> Motion carries. Four to zero. Next, we'll move to section 8, action item, education services. Under Dr. Young, we have five. We'll start with ADA. This item presents updated English learner reclassification criteria to ensure alignment with recent state guidance and district instructional program updates. These revisions maintain our required safeguards while providing a clear and more inclusive pathway for reclassification. I recommend approval. >> I move approval of action item 8A. >> Second. >> Any discussion? Maddie, may I have your preferential vote? >> I. All board members in favor. I I. Those who
102oppose. Motion carries. Four to zero. Next. 8B. This item brings forward each school single plan for student achievement for annual board approval as required by state and federal law. These plans outline site specific goals, actions, and use of resources to improve student outcomes based on their identified needs and data and in alignment with our district LCAP. Each school's plan was approved by their school site council and I recommend approval. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> Maddie, may I have your preferential vote? >> I. >> Board members in favor. >> I. >> Those who oppose? >> Motion carries. Four to zero. 8C. It is compliance season, so I apologize. This item brings forward each school's comprehensive school safety plan for annual board approval as required by EDC code. These plans outline sight specific
103strategies to address campus safety, emergency preparedness, and the creation of safe, secure learning environments for students and staff. Each school's plan was collaborated on within their committees and approved by their school site council. I recommend approval. >> So moved. >> Second. Any discussion? Maddie, may I have your preferential vote? >> I. >> Board members in favor, >> I. >> Those who oppose? Motion carries. Four to zero, 8 D. Okay. This item brings forward new courses for the 2627 school year. New middle school courses include AVID 7, Model United Nations, Business, Entrepreneurship, and Public Speaking, as well as Project Lead the Way, which will focus on design and modeling and science of technology. The new high school courses include advanced placement business with personal finance and advanced placement art history. I recommend approval. >> I move
104approval of action item 8D. >> Second. >> Any discussion? I just think it's uh pretty exciting some of these things that our uh middle schoolers get to be involved with and then great things for our high schoolers. >> Yeah, I'm really excited. The model UN is going to be potential to be a during during school time. Um that program has been huge. I know a lot of kids have really enjoyed it and it's it's been a big deal. So, it's really cool that that's gonna going to be elective. Um, and I do love seeing that there is going to continue to be kind of a design type class for um, I I truly enjoyed teaching design. So, I think that's going to be a really cool class to see how that all plays out. As
105again, as you know, the kids need electives. They just do. So, um, being able to kind of get a variety of different things to kind of look at is always a good thing. >> And I have to say I'm I'm actually excited about AVID 7 because I think it just really helps to feed right into the high school. The wraparound support that Abbott provides is just amazing in terms of helping students to understand how to study, how to kind of govern themselves in an educational setting to be their best and then when they get to high school, the support with just applying for college and all the things that go with it. I just find that it's a wonderful program. So to extend it to the middle school is is really a wonderful opportunity for
106our students. Any other comments? >> Yeah, because I'm excited about something, too. I'm excited about AP business. I think that's a fabulous addition to our programming here at ESUSD. Gives um >> our high school students that are entrepreneurial in nature. Um a um a great um foothold. And um it's uh also something that transitions well into college. So um I'm I'm uh really excited about all of these, you know, and great work bringing this to us. And my understanding is that the um the business AP class is going to be available for like the freshman and sophomores >> for all students, >> which is really nice that >> because there aren't a lot of AP classes >> that the younger kids, >> you know, feel like they can take, right? >> So, this is going
107to be a really good kind of starting point into the >> into the AP world for for some kids, >> which I think is a really really exciting um plan for them. So, It's really cool. >> I have a question. Are we looking at the business with personal finance as part of the business pathway or would that count for a year within the business pathway? Because I know the fourth and final year is not an AP class. >> Yeah, great question, Maddie. So, they are looking at embedding it into the business pathway and then moving another course out of the pathway. And then with the project lead the way um within the middle school would that sort of serve as like a jumping off point for the engineering and biomed pathway is that >> potentially.
108>> Yeah. So our goal we've been working really closely with principal Davlantis is to align her course offerings to the high school pathways. And so this is a step towards that and then next year we're going to have three levels of project lead the way courses and that one would be a direct tiein to the biomedical pathway. Yeah, that that pathway does not need help recruiting kids though. >> Oh, I know. [laughter] >> Yeah, >> I This is great. >> Mic on. Sorry. With that, I would like to have your preferential vote. >> I >> All board members in favor. >> I. [clears throat] Those who oppose? Motion carries four to zero. And lastly, 8E. Okay, this item brings back the revised or new board policies and administrative regulations under the instruction umbrella in order
109to bring us into alignment with federal and state updates and laws. These policies and administrative regulations were presented at our last meeting for your review and I recommend approval. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> Just uh thank you for the little summaries we get. >> Yeah, those are nice. >> Maddie, may I have your preferential vote? I >> board members in favor. >> I. >> Those who oppose? Motion carries. Four to zero. Moving on to section 9, special education. We have Dr. Plackins 9A. >> Good evening. This item brings back board policy and administrative regulations 1445, response to immigration enforcement. This was presented at last meeting as information uh pending action and I recommend approval. So moved. >> Second. [clears throat] Any discussion? >> Um I would just like to say that
110I I read through um all of the language and um it really is um um a guideline to our staff to what to do in certain situations. Um, I think it's a sorry state of affairs that we have to have this, but we have it and um I think it's a big benefit to our district staff. >> Maddie, may I have your preferential vote? >> I. >> Board members in favor. >> I. >> Those who oppose? Motion carries. Four to zero. We'll now move to section 10 reports. We'll pull up theformational calendar for your view, excuse me, for your review. And next we will move to section 11 and that is we'll start with 11A and we'll start with you Frank. >> Right. Thank you. Feel like I lived a lifetime this evening already. >>
111[laughter] >> Um but uh >> this is the only movie. This is late for us. >> Uh so last week I attended the facilities advisory committee. We had a a job walk at district offices Eagle's Nest and um I know Dr. Lind never wants to give out any dates, but are you going to share any tonight? [laughter] Something positive. Uh yeah, district staff will be moving back into the district office as of Monday. >> All right. Great news. Great news. >> That is great news. >> Um on uh Wednesday, I attended the uh centers center street school PTA meeting. Um lot of energy in the room. Not all of it was Cheryl, but she was she was certainly part of it. But um they um presented their slate of officers for next year and it's
112great to see some some new faces and and and many who've been there for a few years but stepping up and taking on different roles because that's what they do in PTA. They don't stick in one job for five years or whatever. They they they work their way around which is uh really nice to see. And then on Thursday, um had the pleasure of attending the um Rotary Kowanas annual golf challenge and uh Smasher Johnson was there representing >> Smasher >> Rotary. Thank you very much for um gracing our team with your presence and uh we all had a good time. End of my report. >> That was lovely. All right. So, it's been actually a not it's a relatively late couple weeks for me. Um, I did help judge the district spelling be um
113actually I think it was the day after the last meeting um this year. And congrats to Noah again um who was the runner up for the district um talent or the district spelling be um as he got beat by a repeat champion um Ellie came through spelling or derves which apparently I spelled miss incorrectly on my phone. Um, so and it was really cute. Her dad had done like a whole pneumonic for her. It was it was ex it was fun. Um, I would like to just do a quick thank you to some of my old students and yes, some of them were old students who came out to the alumni baseball game. Um, it was really fun to see. They had an actually pretty good group of alumni baseball players this year. Um, and
114that's always a really fun event. And I was sitting over on the alumni section with parents from the alumni section and I get a text from the other side of the field saying, "I see you." And I said, "I have more kids over here. Sorry." Because I don't have very many kids on the other side of the field anymore. Um, my SoCal Rock meeting was last week. Nothing really big to report, but I am super excited to be representing all of the local JPAs. Um, as the president, um, I'm going to be on a I'm going to be a member of a panel at the CTE conference next Monday in Sacramento. So, I'm excited for that. Um, Friday night I hosted the vocal competition. And again, this is a Rotary thing, but it's the Rotary
115Pageant of the Arts. Um, which offer our students a chance to do a competition, get a little prize money. Um, and so I would like to thank my judges, Gianna, Elizabeth, and Tiffany for coming out and judging. I had 11 amazing participants. Um the four prize winners will perform for the Rotarians in April to receive their checks and then the winner will be moving on to the next level where they have a chance for an even bigger check which is always fun. Um, today I was excited to be the guest butterfly hunter uh in Miss Clark's eighth grade science class. This is actually an adaptation of a lesson that I taught with my sixth graders for probably 10 or 15 years. So, she when she emailed me the other day to come and um be
116the guest uh butterfly hunter, I was like, "Oh, yeah, sounds great." So, I did three classes of butterfly hunting. Um, it was a blast. Uh, and again tonight, I would like to thank everybody who came and shared their public comment. We had a long public comment and but a lot of important things were said and that's the end of my report. >> Mine will be very short and sweet. Um, last night me and Dr. Johnson attended the council PTA meeting and before that was the council reflections winners and it was pretty great. See the the chair had put together a really nice um way of um capturing all the different um music and dancing and having it all in a slideshow. And um it was a really nice little little event to celebrate the kids
117that um participated and won on a council level. And I believe there was one that will be moving on to a district level. Um and that's it for my report. >> And I would like to take a moment to first honor our president, Tracy Miller, who could not be with us here tonight because she is out of town. So I am sitting in her plate sitting in for her this evening. She [snorts] picked a very interesting meeting to uh to be out of town and I will make sure I communicate with her afterwards. But in all seriousness, she is missed and we um we were able to hold things down in her absence. Last week, I had the pleasure of sitting in as a judge for the Elsa Gundo Hometown Stars upcoming Yes. for the
118upcoming talent show. I will say if anyone in the future is looking for a judge and and I was able to serve as a judge, there are two people that you absolutely have to select. One is Cheryl Smith because she brings snacks. >> She also brings I heard she gets like top tens for everybody. She said that she was the cheerleader, too. Like she couldn't not. That's the one you want. >> Well, what's interesting, I'm glad you brought that up. She I mean, she's okay with that. I think I was the 10 of tens. Like, I think I was way too generous. It would have been like a 4 day show. But the next person that I have to definitely say that you really want if you want to balance your show and have like
119a real balanced evaluation would be Dr. Johnson. very very fair but very much like I'm like he this [snorts] you think he's getting paid for this one he's he's so um definitely what Heather said he takes it seriously and and and does a great job with it. So that was nice and we look forward to this. >> I mean I was getting paid you're paying [clears throat] me. >> You're absolutely Well, you did your job. Good for you. All right. Well, there you have it. The show is this Friday at 6 PM and the doors open at 5. Well, they technically don't open. The quad is open at 5 for vendors and for snacks, which we hope that you will support. And again, show starts at 6. The last thing that I want to say
120is thank you to everyone who spoke, but I want to put a spotlight on Eden. Excuse me, Eden. Because while we had people from the community come out and speak about the behavior of the kids and we had a representative, myself from the board speak on behalf of the board and staff. We had someone tonight in the room who represented the voice of our students. And at the end of the day, we are all here tonight. The people that are in the audience for the seats, they were all here for that very purpose, our students. And the point that she brought up which is you may have seen something you didn't like and you can say it's maturity but one thing that we have to do regardless of where you sit how you feel about
121anything is to remember that kids need guidance and I will give you this one analogy. We can give them, if this were a bowling alley, we could give them the full lane so that they can grow and learn and stretch. Our job is to simply pull up those rails in the gutter to ensure that they don't go in it. And I thank Eden for standing up tonight and being that lane protector to ensure that we all remember that our job is protection first, guidance, and redirection. Thank you. >> Thank you, Madam President. On the PTA front, honorary service awards um are coming up and so the submission deadline is Friday, uh February 27th. So, I really encourage uh folks, you know, our PTA people just go so above and beyond. There's you could nominate, you
122know, 10 people off the top of my head. On the ed side, uh the Sketchers peerto-peer check presentation is uh Thursday. Okay, Kim is attending on my behalf because I'm at a conference. So, thank you, Kim. Really looking forward that. And just a shout out to all those folks. Are you going, Frank? >> Tracy's kind. >> I think it's going to be at uh um at uh California Smash. Yeah. So, um but that's just a great event. And just a shout out to Sketchers as well, too. They just bring so many dollars to our schools. So, thank you. On the staff side, um I uh just graced Stephanie and Valerie. They helped organize the district-wide spelling bee. It was really nice to see the student here. Um you know, it's a lot of work. It's,
123you know, it's it's time out of their day and so it was just a really cool event. Meredith and I attended uh also going on the staff side, the 100th day of school, um our our teach many of our teachers dress up as as um wise citizens. And um it's just a really it's a fun day. It's it's a cool tradition. If you're around elementary world, it's an important day. Uh continue on the students uh superintendent advisory council met. Thank you, Chair Maddie, uh who helps uh run the show. We met with um assistant principal Randy Boykins as well as uh counselor Lori Klene. Um Boyens was talking to us about bathrooms and smart pass and and then Lori Klein was about social emotional wellness and the wellness center. It was great discussion, good feedback
124and that was shared with the board with a board update. Uh I want to give a shout out to coach Kelly and the varsity boys soccer uh who had a really great run um and made CI playoffs advanced to the quarterfinals. Um, tough loss to Fullerton, I believe. Fontana. Um, no one cares about those towns anyway. So, I um >> What are you defending? Fontana. All right. So, just kudos to to those boys for going out there and giving it their all. Just I I think that the uh the soccer team took like a big step this year. Um, and uh kudos to Coach Kelly. Uh, then going on the an event tomorrow night is at Center Street is the Gate Parent Education. night. I know a few of us are attending that. So, really
125excited. Thank you, Dr. Young um for working with that team to organize. And then the hometown stars on Friday. I I couldn't do it any better than Cheryl other than just to encourage to attend. It's at 5:00 p.m. at the PAC at the high school. And then thank you uh to the board um to Daima for presiding tonight. Um a fun meeting to preside over. Um so, you did a great job and looking forward to your presidency next year. >> And that concludes my report. Thank you. At this time, we do not need to return to close session. So, we will conclude this meeting at 7:58.