001Good evening everybody. I'm going to call our meeting daughter at 6 PM. Welcome to a regularly scheduled board meeting for the Elskundo Unified School District Board of Education. It is February 10th and we will begin tonight with the pledge of allegiance led by Miss Beley. to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right, we will begin with our agenda hearing period, public communications. And I do have a few cards. If anyone else is filling out a card, please do so and bring them up here to this table. Miss Tracy will uh accept them and pass them up to me. So, we will begin tonight with uh Yadranka Dasco. We have a non-aggenda item which
002will be three minutes and I'll try to look at you and the clock at the same time. >> Hello. >> Is this Is this on? >> Yeah. Okay. All righty. Hello. Good evening everyone. Um I'm here this evening to discuss the school protest that took place last week, Friday fe February 5th at the high school. I was there to observe and was surprised by really many of the hateful and um in poor taste protests or posters that I saw. Um they were both vulgar and hateful. And the great irony is that this week is kindness week at the high school. I saw several posters using the f-word, others using the word hate and hatred. one made no sense to me, but I'm going to read it to you here and perhaps it'll make sense to
003you. If you support ICE, your mom a hoe. That's a direct quote. Uh these are not kind messages obviously and from what I saw Friday, even though the school prides itself on tolerance and openness to different ideas, that did not seem the case on Friday. Further, is this the message the district wants to send the community? An award-winning district uses profanity during school hours. It was in full display for everyone to see. So, it's my understanding from other parents that students were allowed to create their posters during class time. My question here is why or who was the adult in the room? Were any of the teachers staff stopping people and saying, "You know what? This is not cool messaging for the school or for a school environment or were they encouraged to just go
004ahead and continue with whatever their their perceived message was?" Now, this isn't about protesting. It's about messaging. Does the district want to promote kindness and tolerance or hate and anger? From an outside observer, I would say the message of hate was on full display on Friday. Thank you. Right. Thank you, Yanka. Our next speaker this evening is Jack Ashworth. And this is also not agenda. So, we'll have three minutes. Thank you, Mr. Ashworth. >> Uh, good evening everyone. You might remember the last time I came before the board and provided each of you with a small book entitled Woke Ideology Critique and Counter Proposal. I also cautioned you about the dis school district's support of promoting DEI or woke ideology at our schools. My position was and is that woke ideology is counter to America's
005Declaration of Independence which states that we are created free, equal, and with inalable rights given to us by God. If any school board member happened to be attend the protest last Friday, they would have witnessed that the school's DEI policy is having a lot of success in indoctrinating students. This was obvious by simply observing the posters that they were carrying. Some of the posters had referenced woke views, including white privilege, colonialism, open borders, defunding the police, not to mention the uncalled uncalled for vulgarity on a lot of the posters. The reason I intended the protest was not because I hate ICE, [snorts] but because I was wondering if any students at the rally might hold different views than the anti-ICE view. I did notice some students that walked away from the protest and some that
006were standing at a distance. I asked a few of them why they didn't join the protest or if they had ever heard of Charlie Kirk or TurningPoint USA. I mentioned this because TurningPoint USA is a group that has established clubs on some local schools that allow students with different points of view an opportunity to share their perspectives. I am wondering if anyone on the board would like to know more about TurningPoint USA and would be interested in to speaking to one of their representatives. If so, they could be helpful in establishing a club at our high school. This would also be supportive of students who hold religious or conservative views that are not considered popular. let uh please let me know and I will be happy to put you in touch with a Turning Point
007USA representative. And let me remind you, read my read the book. >> Okay. Thank you, Mr. Ashworth. All right. Our next speaker this evening is Tamara Kachowski. Please tell me I said that correctly. Did I? We've seen each other enough. I think I think I've learned it now. Um [laughter] this is also a three minute non-aggenda item. So go ahead, Tamara. >> Okay. Good evening. I come before all of you today to appeal to your better judgment going forward in regards to the walkouts by students. Principal Gart's letter to parents claimed the school didn't know anything about the scheduled walkout, but that the school was prepared if it happened and students would be safe and respectful. Does this seeming permission that was granted include true safety and financial responsibility too while acting as in local
008parents off-campus by an approved event or does that responsibility end at the very same school gates that was designed to keep students in and safe during school hours? We had the misfortune of driving through Imperial and Maine on our way to an appointment and got stuck at those lights. We witnessed multiple boys climb a top the school's brand new $450,000 signage and descending it too with their feet on those panels. Is that respect of city property? We listen to a crowd of predominantly girls with megaphones screaming vulgarities at drivers who didn't honk in their support. Is that how we surprise how we prioritize and show respect to residents? Does this respect that principal Gart spoke of include the boys at top the signage shouting the assistant principal Mr. Boyin is a dictator? Yes, I understand
009how freedom of speech works, but I also understand public perception. When signage says, I quote, "If you support ICE, yo mama a ho, you failed students." A boy with a sign that attempted to convey slang low-key fis was spelled l ke y instead of l o w ky. You failed him directly. That's public embarrassment, but clearly not enough to toss it in the trash or to be corrected by teachers or his peers. when signage simply reads due process without teachers teaching about the illegal immigration reform and immigrant responsibility act of 1996 signed into law by Clinton which allows for an expedited and streamlined removal process of those non-citizens to be deported without a hearing before an immigration judge. You've not only done them a disservice, but those here illegally another disservice because they're all ill-prepared
010to spread truth over a false narrative or sense of security or perceived injustice. Let education and facts lead. When students parrot the ramblings of celebrities on their signage by claiming no one is illegal on stolen land, you failed to teach the students about the conquering of land or the purchase of land both in the US and worldwide. Perhaps they should stay in class. How can administration claim they knew nothing about the planned walk out yet certain teachers were allowed to use their school time to create those embarrassing signage for shock and awe? Then you succeed in lying to parents and residents alike. As a resident, I'm glad their walk out didn't get the media attention they were seeking on the the Instagram account they created called Elsa Gundo Ice Out. It does, however, thank the
011administration and teachers for their support. Your time's up. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. >> Okay. And our last speaker, unless there's more cards that I haven't seen. No more cards. Okay. Our last speaker this evening is Amy Grant. And this is also a threeminute item. If you want to come up. Good evening. My name is Amy Grant. I've been an Elsa Gundo resident for eight years. I'm the parent of two students, Ryan in fourth grade at Richmond Street and TJ in seventh grade at Elsa Gundo Middle School. I am a current PTA member at Richmond Street, Center Street, and the Middle School. I worked as a full-time instructional aid at Richmond Street, and I'm now a proudly tenured first grade teacher at Center Street Elementary in my third year. I'm also a proud
012member of ESTA and chair of our pack committee. I want to add this. I feel lucky to have a relationship with almost everyone on this podium. These relationships matter. And I want to be clear. We are not here seeking division or conflict. We are here seeking partnership, honesty, and mutual respect because that is how strong communities move forward. I come to you tonight not only as an educator, but as someone deeply invested in this community. Community is what brought me to Elsagundo. It's what rooted me here. It's what inspired me to serve this district. And it is the beating heart of our city and our schools. The teachers behind me are not just people who teach your children. They are parents. They are neighbors, alumni, and community members. They support their own families while also
013caring for, educating, and advocating for yours. That's why I was struck by the 2025 2028 district second listed goal, community of well-being, a supportive, inclusive community that pri prioritizes wellness, belonging, and partnership. Those are powerful words. support, wellness, belonging, partnership. But words alone are not enough. Is support reflected in a proposed 1% salary increase for educators while upper administration received 7% increases after barely a year of service? The optics are troubling, and the message it sends is deeply discouraging. Is wellness being prioritized when educators proposed a modest $2,000 contribution to health benefits and were countered with zero? That does not feel like partnership. Elsa Gundo Unified is special, but if our district is to remain competitive and desirable, we must be offered a contract that attracts and retains the very best educators. The educators that
014are behind me. When teachers stay, students benefit from stability, stronger relationships, and deeper learning over time. Our students deserve excellence. And teachers, teachers who are behind me who can afford to stay, grow, and commit their careers here. We are not a large, nameless, faceless workforce. We are your community and we want to work with you, not against you, to uphold the values this district has committed to. Elsa Gundo Unified is special because of its people. We are your teachers. We are your neighbors. We are your community. >> If we truly believe in community well-being and partnership, then our educators must feel those values not just in words, but in action. >> Thank you, Amy. >> Thank you, Amy. Thank you all for being with her up there. Okay, at this time we'll move into our
015special presentation section of our agenda. Uh we have our student representative report. Maddie Pela is here tonight. >> Hello everyone. It's great to be back. Even in the shortest month, ASB is as busy as ever. Last week we had the chess tournament where Oscar Sakurov took home first place. So, congrats to Oscar. This week we have kindness week where each class is in charge of planning a lunchtime activity and coordinating a spirit day as well. The activities highlight kindness, teamwork, and togetherness. Looking ahead, tomorrow we have a boys CIF soccer match versus Summit at 5:00 p. p.m. and Thursday a girls soccer CIF home game against Milicanin. And the dates for the Super Smash Bros. tournament has been finalized. It is going to be March 2nd through the 5th in the library. We also have
016the UCLA blood drive coming up and that is going to be March 3rd. In more exciting news, we also have a Valentine's Day bird's eyee special for the holiday. >> All right, that's all for my report. >> Okay, thank you for sharing. Next on our agenda, we have an update from the Elskin EB Foundation. Miss Kaban, please come forward. >> Hello. Hello. Happy February. Happy month. Happy early Valentine's Day to all of you. like to be the first one to say that because you know it's important to have somebody say it first. Um so I have just a few things on the agenda tonight is uh first of all as you know Continental Development Corporation who is a fantastic partner for us uh is doing a corporate match for all the donations uh right now
017until Friday February 13th. So if you haven't made a donation yet this year this is a perfect time to do so. Uh, as a reminder, our ask this year is $800 per student, but any donation is always welcome. Um, we also, let's see, we also have um coming out this month is registrations for the Academy by Ed, so keep an eye out for that. We have a save the date for the gayla, which we have a working title called the golden um golden evening for education. So, just to keep it in the back of your head that there will be sparkles and glitter and gold. And I think there's a new title coming out, but it's still being worked on. But the save the date is Friday, May 8th. Also, last time I was here,
018I did say that we were having guys night out in March. It has been tabled to September. There is a tenative date of September 3rd. So, it'll give people guys a chance to really kick off the school year in September. Um, so it should be nice. And then on a personal note, uh I was able to attend and be a jet be a shark at the um biomed pathway Shark Tank event. And this was my first time being able to attend to be a shark. I've always been on the back end as a uh final judge, if you would, for the their final capstone presentations. And I was just delighted. I know I got to sit in on Mali M. Sorry, I was gonna say Matt. Mattaline. I was making mixing up Maline Pela and
019I said, "Yeah, Malkey." You're Maly now. [laughter] I'm sorry. Sorry. I will not call you Melie. That's so bad. I'm sorry. Um but no, your you and your partner had I believe it was First Sight metal glasses and um I won't share just in case you decide to, you know, put it out there in the public. But um really well done these students. For those of you at home that don't know, these students, it's their final capstone presentation in the biioid pathway and they come up with a product that they want to take to market and they present it to the sharks, which are community members, business leaders, um people that are actually acting, if you've watched Shark Tank as sharks. We are given a card and we judge their presentation whether their product is
020is something that they feel and can and you know um tell us how they would take it to market, what they would sell it for, how much it would cost to produce, who are they marketing it to. So it's really a whole uh full circle thing that comes into play here. They're not only dealing with things that fall under the health care sector, but also business. So it's really something quite awesome that these kids come up with. I mean, I don't know if I was nearly that together at their age. So, congratulations to all of you. So, please let all your friends know. Um, I'm also really happy that we didn't have to share as a shark. I didn't want to say like, "Oh, for that reason, I'm out." I just didn't want to say
021that to any student. I mean, I didn't on my cards, just FYI. But, um, I'm happy that um it was really it was very cool. So, as a personal, I just want to say thank you. So, that's it for me tonight. Any questions or anything? Oh, and I was going to Sorry, one last thing. We missed you at the meeting today, Dr. Day, but um Tracy and Kim did an excellent job and um congratulations on your children playing fast uh baseball and softball. [laughter] Thanks so much. Bye. Thank you, Christa. And to the EB Foundation, of course. All right, our next item in the agenda. Do we have um an official speaker from ESTA this evening? Mr. Kelly, come on up. Honestly, let's hold the applause. I haven't said anything quite yet, so that might
022be a bit presumptuous. Um, I kindly would like to say that Elsa Gundo is a a community to which is welcoming of all. Uh, the teachers are so much accepting of everybody. The students are accepting of everybody and I think that is fairly reflected with what the climate is within the school system and school district as a whole. That was adlibbed. So, yeah, typically I'm not allowed to do that. So, I will go back to the regularly scheduled program and I will get to that right now. So, with that being said, uh Dr. Johnson, the board, good to see you guys as always on this evening. Typically, it's a little bit touchandgo here with me. A bit dodgy. You never know what you're going to get, but we're going to stick to a script now.
023Okay? So, bear with me as I read opposed to look at you wonderful individuals in the eyes. So, my dad was never one to mince words. And if you know him, you'd surely agree. He always told me there was two things people shouldn't bleep with. family and money. I [snorts] bring this up because we have teachers who tously bend over backwards for their students as if they were family. Our students deserve the very best educators in front of them and right now they currently have them. At this time, those beloved teachers are feeling the weight of today's financial climate rising or sorry rising gez raising inflation, increasing health care costs and wages that have not kept pace. We are simply hoping for a fair mutual beneficial agreement that helps retain the outstanding educators we are
024we already have and attract more highly quality professionals to serve our students in the future. And with all said and done, we can't do this without you. So as a collective group that we need to make work in the best interest of the students and keep the educators that we currently have and attract the ones that we need. So thank you. I appreciate it. You guys have a wonderful evening. Thank you, Mr. Kelly. Um, do we have anyone from CSCA that has words tonight they'd like to speak? No. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Good night, teachers who are leaving. Thank you for being here. Um, our next item on the agenda is a presentation on ESUSD general obligation bonds. Dr. Lint, would you like to introduce our special I'd like to call forward Mr. Jin
025Kim from Bank of America to give us an update on our um all of our bonds that um the district has historically had. Thank you. >> Thank you, Dr. Lince. Um good evening, Madame President, members of the board, Dr. Johnson. Thank you again for inviting me here this evening. You know, I've been invited here every year to continue your efforts to promote transparency and to inform the community about all of the activities related to the district's bond. So to that and I've come prepared this evening to share with you certain information related to our measure C EM as well as ES. So without further ado just starting with uh my first slide which is sort of a general overview about what a go bond is and this again is for public consumption. I know we
026all know what a geo bond is but I thought it might just be helpful to do a quick review about what it is. So, GEOB bond is a financing mechanism which is widely used by all of the school districts up and down the state and it's a program or a tool that's used to benefit the community. And because it benefits the community, school districts ask community members to vote for a bond. And a bond means taxes. And in order to pass this tax, it does require a 55% approval rate. Now, a geo bond in California has a number of different protective as well as transparency and accountabilility features built into it. One of those protective feature is the maximum tax rate. For a school district like ours, the maximum tax rate per bond measure is
027$60 per $100,000 of assessed valuation. So, for a school district that has multiple bond measures on the book like ours, you simply multiply 60 times the number of bond measures which are on the book. So for school districts that may have two, you do 60 times two and that 120 is your theoretical maximum. For three, it's 180 and so forth. Now, in terms of the accountability feature, for every bond program, a school district must have what's called a citizens bond oversight committee. And this committee's sole purpose is to ensure that the general obligation bond monies are spent on projects which the board and the community voted for. Now, let's talk about what types of projects could be funded out of a geo bond. In broad categories, it's technology improvements, modernization, safety and security, construction, renovations,
028and the like. But I'd like to focus on what you cannot do with the GEO bond money. The GEO bond money cannot be used to keep the lights on, to pay for your water bills or other utility bills. and GO bond monies cannot be used to pay for regular administrative salaries like for cabinet members, teachers and staff. It also cannot be used to fund pensions. So I wanted to just remind the public of the uses, allowable uses and what's not allowable on a geo bond. So now let's talk about some of our outstanding bond measures. We do have four bond measures on the books. Now when we look at these bomb measures we almost have to group them in two separate sets. One is measures C E and M. When we look at those projects
029we see that each of those measures were specifically designed to target a specific set of projects. So C was sort of your general let's fix our classrooms. Let's bring it up to code to current standards. E was addressing some of the facilities and needs at the high school level. M was to build the auditorium. So that's one set. The other set is measure ES that was meant to stand alone and we passed that one most recently in 2018 and I'm not sure if any one of us were in the room when C&M were passed but we almost have to view them as two separate sets. Now let's talk a little bit about some of the activities. These this slide and the next slide go hand in hand. I won't bore you with the details of
030each one of these individual line items, but I will highlight a couple of interesting facts. If you look at those blue arrows, those are the sunset dates in which these bond measures are scheduled to fall off the tax role. C is scheduled to fall off next fiscal year. E will follow a year after that and M will follow a couple of years after uh E. So you can see that these three are a set measure ES independent bond plan separate from the other three. We still have about 25 years or so left on that one. Now before we talk about the tax rates, I want to just talk about some of the factors that go in to calculating and coming up with your tax rates for your community. One of the more important input is
031the assessed valuation. Now, this is different than the market value of your homes. When you look at the historical performance of our assessed valuation, we see that we've had some very good growth rates in some of the years and some of the years we've had some negative growth rate. That's something unique to our community because one of our taxpayer is a very large oil company. And that's something that other school districts do not have, but we have that. And because of that, our assessed valuations tend to go up at a slightly different rate than some of our peers. And it sometimes do not increase as much compared to some of our peers, specifically because of that reason. The other factor that goes into calculating your tax rate is the dollar amount of outstanding bonds. This
032is a stock of all of your general obligation bonds, all four of the bond measures. Some of the ones with zeros, those are bonds in which have already been paid off or have been refinanced. And the district has been very good about demonstrating good governance and fiscal stewardship by refinancing some of your old bonds to benefit the taxpayers. So now let's talk about the tax rate. So the aggregate of all four of the bonds this year is $80.36 thou uh 36 per $100,000 of assessed valuation. Now, this is a regional comparison. These are some of our nearby school districts and what their tax rates are. You can see the bottom is about $34, the top number being close to $200. So, we're sort of sitting in that middle point, which is which is very reasonable
033considering where we are in California. Now, I want to highlight another t uh tax rate fact. This is a historical tax rate of our district for the past nine or 10 years. This is a snapshot in time since the voters supported measure ES. And I wanted to just highlight that our tax rate tends to gyate because of number of different reasons. The assessed valuation growth rate. Number of bond taxes that do come on and fall off amongst our various bond measures. As you can see here, we go anywhere from $65 to as high as $116. And that's a typical range of tax rate movement for our community based on the number of bonds that we have outstanding. So, I want to conclude with this slide. There's another slide after this, but I'll leave that for
034you to look at on your own time. But this one is your credit rating. Every time you issue a bond, similar to when if you were to take out a loan, investors would want to know what your credit assessment is. Just like we would pull a FICO score every time you get a loan. our credit rating of double A2 on the left and a double A minus just as a point of reference I would categorize that in the high credit rating and whenever a credit rating analyst makes an assessment about a school district bond there are three major categories of outcome high medium and low and our double A2 and double A minus is a high credit rating well you might be curious well why are we rated so highly right well the common theme
035when we read these analysts report are a number of different things. One, this is a very affluent area. You know, we have a very high high socioeconomic statistics, but that's outside of your control. Some of the other things that are within your control that the rating analyst not to is management and the way you manage your finances, way the district's operations are managed by the superintendent and cabinet, but that also includes the board. The credit rating analysts do evaluate the board dynamics as well. So it's a nod to you as to the uh which results in this high credit rating. So I wanted to just mention that for the group. Now the last one this is just my attempt to add value because all I've done was just share some facts. This is just some
036of the projections that Bank of America thinks might happen in 26. I won't bore you with all the details and I don't intend to give you an eye exam here. But in terms of if you're wondering what's in store for 2026, well, our economists predict that it's much like 2025 in that our economy will be primarily driven by AI development and AI investment. In terms of interest rates, we do see a couple of interest rate adjustments in store for us in this coming year by the Federal Reserve Board. So, um, I want to be judicious with your time. So, I'm going to conclude my presentation here and open it up to any questions you might have. >> Okay. Thank you, Mr. Kim board, any questions tonight? >> I have a question. I missed the slide
037as you went through, but um between measure C and E, they were very similar dollar amounts, the bonds are both like 24 million and yet the tax rate um is of one is four times the other. So I was wondering if you could explain how that anomaly occurred. >> Sure. Um so [snorts] I mentioned that measures C E and M should be clustered as one measure. So when E was planned, it was planned intentionally so that the tax rates for E will kick in or start when C decides to fall off. So when we see C fall off next year, we're going to see the tax rate for E start to pick up a little bit. So >> I don't have a question, but I do have a comment and that is thank you for
038presenting this something that could totally have our eyes glazed over, but presenting it in a way that makes it interesting. But not only interesting, you took complex information and you presented it in a way that everyone could understand. And that takes a great skill and I thank you for one coming tonight and doing your due diligence to present it in a way that we can all absorb it. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. And it's great that you do this on a regular cadence because, you know, not everybody pays attention to these things all the time and it's an important part for anybody that pays taxes here to know what this is and why it's there and where it came from. So, thank you. It's good to have a [clears throat] updated version of that available
039for the public and reminder for ourselves at all times. So, thanks Jen. >> Thank you. Okay. Okay. >> Thank you. All right. Our next item on the agenda is a very special one. Not that that wasn't special, Jim, but but this this is this is special in a whole different way. Yeah. This this is a recognition of a donation from the Jeffrey E. Forini State. And Dr. Lince, I think you'll introduce this. I'd like to call Mr. Phil Guestler. representative of the Jeffrey E. Forini estate and friend to Mr. Forini forward. [sighs] Jeff Forini was a graduate of Elskeno High School and lived the majority of his life in the South Bay. He spent his life in public service, first in the army and then for nearly 30 years with Homeland Security, specifically with the
040Customs and Border Protection. Mr. Forini carries forth his legacy of service with the establishment of the Jeffrey E. Fartini Memorial Scholarship to learn and go forth for service at his Elsagundo High School alma mater. His donation will ensure a graduating senior who excels in mathematics is awarded with a scholarship annually for years to come. ESUSD is grateful to Mr. Forini for this generous donation to our students success. And I'd like to call Mr. uh Guestler forward to say a few words as well >> and to present this with this plaque um in our in our gratitude. >> Okay. Thank you so much for the plaque. Jeff would have been uh very grateful for it. First, I'd like to thank the board for allowing me to say a few words about my longtime friend Jeff Orini.
041He and I are both Elsa Gunda High School graduates. Um I graduated a few years earlier. He he in 1973 and my me in 1971. But Jeeoff, many of the things I wanted to say tonight Kimberly covered in her note. So, but I do want to stress one thing about this very generous um scholarship and and I'm glad that I'm now able to present something which is something the board can give rather than something they have to pay like the bond person they've just presented us. [laughter] But, uh Jeff really appreciated his education here particularly in math. He respected mathematics. Uh he used it extensively um in his uh job at the Customs and Border Protection. and he supervised over 200 officers at the LA Harbor. Uh that involved a lot of budgeting and and
042such. He was good at math and he respected it and that's why he wanted to set this scholarship up which I understand is extremely large. Half million dollar donation 50 $20,000 per year donation is no small potatoes. It's probably the largest scholarship that the [clears throat] school will have to offer and for very good reason and to a a very deserving recipient. But Jeff spent his life in service as Kimberly uh mentioned first in the army and then with Customs and Border Protection. Um but in in that serve because he uh was very proud of that service. He was proud of wearing the blue uniform and the badge and he served it well. I would ask the board to also uh consider a candidate's um history of public service as well. Great math grades are
043great. It can open some doors, but good service opens hearts. And so, please review the candidate with that in mind uh for my good friend Jeff Rertini. Um he's very proud and happy to provide this scholarship. It is his lasting legacy and I'm uh sure it is in very good hands with the school board. Thank you very much. >> Can we thank you for coming, but can we uh can we convince you to take a photo with us and the plaque and everything all together so we can remember this night? You tell me. Right. Okay. Thank you again. Um I that's that is hugely like unexpectedly generous and we will we will be good stewards. We assure you. Um, next up on our agenda tonight is a presentation on career readiness. Dr. Young, I believe
044this is yours to present. Thank you. Good evening, President Miller Zarniki, members of the board, Superintendent Johnson, and all in attendance this evening. In honor of CTE month, it is my privilege to share with you this evening how we are building a cohesive career readiness system that supports our graduate profile and prepares future ready graduates. The vision of the state's CTE program is to prepare students for college, career, and the workforce in 15 statewide industry sectors through sequence pathways that include hands-on applied learning using industry tools and work-based learning such as internships and job shadowing. The state's ultimate goal is to ensure every student has the knowledge, skills, and experiences needed to thrive in high demand industries upon graduation. This goal aligns with our vision of developing career ready graduates through a comprehensive connected system.
045At the foundation of our system is our graduate profile which guides all of our programmatic decisions. Building on that foundation are our AI integration efforts designed to prepare students for the future of work. We then offer specialized hands-on learning through project lead the way curriculum and pathways which culminates at the high school level in our career pathway experience program. I'd now like to share more about each element of this comprehensive approach. Our strategic vision for career readiness begins with the graduate profile, which identifies skills that students need to succeed beyond high school. By emphasizing critical and creative thinking, effective communication, collaboration, adaptability, and continuous learning, the profile prepares students to thrive in college, careers, and an evolving workforce. As a district, we intentionally design programs and capstone experiences that develop these skills, ensuring that our
046graduates are prepared to succeed in college careers and an everchanging global economy. As we prepare our students for an evolving workforce and careers that may not even exist yet, we must equip them with strong technical skills and critical thinking abilities. Our AI integration and digital citizenship efforts are a key part of this work. With AI increasingly embedded across industries, we are proactively developing student AI literacy through targeted professional learning for educators and clear expectations for ethical and responsible use for students. Building on this work and as was shared at previous board meetings by Dr. Yuzaf, we are proud of both the progress we have made and the leadership of our students that are demonstrating in this area. We are intentionally developing AI readiness by building student capacity, skills, and leadership in this rapidly evolving field.
047Next year, we will continue to advance this work by offering an introduction to AI course at the high school level. This will be coming before you at the next board meeting. In addition, our district proudly partners with Project Lead the Way to provide students beginning in the early grades with access to realworld applied learning experiences that build the skills needed to thrive in college careers and beyond. In TK through fifth grades, our Project Lead the Way Elementary STEM curriculum taps into students natural curiosity through hands-on learning that feels like play while fostering exploration and problem solving. This foundation continues in the middle school through our project lead the way gateway courses which help students begin to explore their interests and envision meaningful future pathways. Beginning next year, the middle school will expand its Project Lead
048the Way offerings, strengthening their early connections to the pathways available at the high school level to support coherence across the grades. We also convened our project lead the way teachers throughout the district earlier this year to strengthen their alignment and ensure a cohesive district-wide program. In looking forward, we are in the process of converting our project lead the way engineering pathway into a state recognized CTE pathway. And in doing so, we'll be able to bring it in alignment with California's model CTE standards, open access to future CTE funding, improve our college and career outcomes, and ultimately strengthen our K12 STEM pipeline. Additionally, next year we will be embedding principles of AI into the pathway, which modernizes the pathway by connecting traditional engineering practices to real world applications of AI. This integration ensures that students graduate
049prepared for emerging high demand careers where engineering and AI increasingly intersect. Finally, our career readiness approach culminates with our career pathway experience initiative where our high school students are able to be recognized for completing over 50 hours of career experience which includes internships, job shadowing, paid work, structured volunteerism, and of course their CTE courses taken at SoCal Rock. Of course, through this initiative, students are able to explore their career identity, purpose, and direction within a supportive environment. As interns with the Elsagundo Blue Butterfly Conservancy, Cara and Sarah engaged in hands-on conservation work, environmental research, creative storytelling, and public outreach focused on protecting the endangered Elsagundo blue butterfly and its habitat. Their internship culminated in the writing and illustration of a children's book, Elsa Gando's Little Secret, What Happened to the Blues? Along with a public
050book launch, community book signing, and local media recognition. This experience strengthened their skills in environmental stewardship, communication, research, and civic engagement, competencies that directly support future Cath career pathways while also advancing the district's environmental literacy efforts. Another robust component of the CPE program is SoCal Rock, our regional career technical education partner. Through SoCal Rock, students learn from industry expert instructors and gain hands-on experience using professional-grade equipment aligned to current workforce standards. Students are exposed to industry certifications, technical skill development, and real world applications across a wide range of high demand industry sectors. Pictured here are Till, Cole, and Jack who are enrolled in the automotive program where they're able to engage in rigorous hands-on training that connects classroom learning to realworld automotive applications. Through collaborative work on real vehicles, including supervised repairs, students develop both
051the technical and soft skills needed in the workforce. Upon completion, students earn elective credits that meet the AO toG requirements for college, but also have opportunities to pursue industry recognized certifications, providing a strong foundation for continued education and employment. This is just one example of how this valuable partnership expands highquality CT access for our students beyond what we are able to offer independently. In closing, we thank you for your leadership and support as we continue building pathways to excellence that prepare every Elsagundo student with the knowledge, skills, and experiences needed for success in life and work while upholding our legacy of innovation and sustainability. Thank you. I welcome your questions or feedback that you may have at this time. >> Just thank you very much. This was wonderful. Of course, I love hearing about SoCal
052Rock, so thank you including it. Um, this was so comprehensive. I People don't understand all of the things that that we do for our district. The pathways are just one part of it. >> Um, and the fact that they are we are now, you know, trying to get those down into the middle school and into the elementary >> is really important as these kids move on. um and that it is part of our goals that we've set for the next three years to to include some of that. So, it is fun to see. The blue butterfly book, by the way, is spectacular. Um it it was so fun to to read it, to see it. But, um so, thank you very much. I appreciate it. >> Of course. >> Yeah. I I'll just add to
053that by saying, you know, again, like with especially with Cara and and Sarah, like their their experience is all the good things wrapped up into one beautiful package that >> supports this community and nature and all the things. So, I just I just love that that, you know, as a district, >> we can let that blossom here and and support it. But again, like the depth this way and the breath and depth this way, breath this way that that we're trying to support students in whatever their path is. um whether it's college, career, directly after school, whatever. It's amazing and and I appreciate that being such a small school district, we can't do all the things in house, but we have partnerships and ways of reaching out to offer them. So, thank you for being
054a key driver in this and to everybody who's involved, >> of course, >> including the president of SoCal Rock over there. So, >> all right. >> Thank you. Okay, we will now move into our consent agenda. There's a motion for approval. >> I move to >> Go ahead. Go. >> I move to approve consent agenda items 5A through H. >> I'll second. >> Okay. Any discussion on any of these items? Uh just a comment that uh as part of our approval here, we're looking at um a lot of volunteers who've uh yep >> put their hand up and they're going to come and help us uh with sports in the spring including Heather who's not here. Her husband is one of our volunteers. And uh the other thing I'd like to note is that um
055I noticed that uh on the uh the staff side that uh we're seeing a lot of uh extra hours for um uh learning recovery and that kind of thing. And I'd just like to uh thank those teachers who have to come in maybe on a Saturday or stay late that uh you know that's very important that we are able to offer that to our students. So it's my comment. >> Okay. Great. With that I'll ask uh for a preferential vote out of Maddie >> and board members in favor please say I. >> I. Those opposed. Motion carries 40. Okay. [clears throat] Our next item is with uh Dr. Johnson, approval of board policies. >> Thank you, Madam President. Um I'm putting forward uh board policies that were presented uh as information at our last board
056meeting. Um uh these are related to board bylaws, um and uh governance between superintendent and the board. Uh, a lot of it just updated laws that we needed to address and I so recommend for approval. Thank you. >> So moved. >> Second. >> All right. Any discussion on these items? >> Just uh comment again. Uh thank you to staff for giving us the little summaries. I don't recall that happening in the past and uh reading through those documents is difficult when you don't know >> what has been changed. And so this has been very helpful. So, thank you for that. >> Great. All right, Maddie, your preferential vote. >> I board members in favor. >> I those opposed. Motion carries 4. We are We are thus updated. >> Okay. Action items. In the business services
057category, we have acceptance of gifts and filling in for clerk Sutherland tonight, we will have our vice president read out this section. >> All right. In accordance with board of education policy number 3290, the board of education may accept gifts as long as there is no conflict with the education code or other public laws. The school district has received generous donations as detailed below. These donations do not conflict with public laws regarding acceptance of gifts. The gift this evening is from Kroger and it's for $1,324.26 and it is given to the Elsa Gundo Middle School. I move to approve this donation, acceptance of this donation. >> Second. >> Any comment on this item other than thank you Ralph Shoppers. >> Yeah. >> Okay, great. Maddie, your preferential vote. >> I. and board members in favor.
058>> I those opposed. Motion carries. 4 Z. All right. Next on our items, approval to enter into an agreement with Seammens. Dr. Lint. >> Yes. This is an agreement with Seammens for our annual fire testing as required by law. And I recommend approval. >> So moved. >> Second. All right. Any discussion? >> Maddie, your preferential vote. >> I. and board members in favor. >> I those opposed. Motion carries 40. All right. Next, we have item C, approval of Eagles Nest free school tuition rates. Dr. Lince, >> yes, these are the proposed uh tuition rates for the 2627 year. We are very excited that Eagles Nest will return to our Sheldon Street facility to uh brand new. They really amazing looking facilities. Um, so these rates are in line with market analysis and I recommend approval.
059>> So moved. Second. >> Any discussion or questions on these items on this item? >> I'm just excited that they're going to be back at their at their little nest as it were. >> Yeah. And we do appreciate the look into market rates and all that. And and yes, the brand new exciting facility I think is definitely worth >> just the pictures I've seen. It's a huge upgrade. >> It's looking great. >> Good. >> All right. If no further discussion, Maddie, your preferential vote. >> I. >> And board members, yours. >> I also I Sorry. Any any uh nays? No. Okay. Uh it it's approved 4. I went out of my uh groove there. Sorry y'all. Okay. Uh next item >> is item 8A. Approval of revised job description title change. Miss Field, would you
060like to introduce this? >> Yes. This action item is a proposed change to the AI instructional technology leader job description and title. The new title AI and instructional innovation TOSA reflects the expanded scope of the position to provide support in the responsible ethical use of AI, instructional innovation, curriculum design and coordination of PLTW, STEM and NGSS aligned programs. I recommend approval. >> So moved. >> Second. >> All right. Um any discussion? >> Uh yeah, just a question. So, is this based on what Artosa is actually doing versus what her job description was before? >> Yeah, >> I will let Dr. Yang take this as well. Yes. >> And this was drafted in collaboration with our AI. >> Thank you. >> All right. Anything further? No. All right. Maddie, your preferential vote. I >> And board
061members in favor, please say I. I. Those opposed? Motion carries. 4 Z. All right. Next item on the agenda is information pending action items. Uh Dr. Young, would you like to introduce uh 9A? >> Sure. Before you tonight, I have a plethora of revised or new board policies or administrative regulations which will bring us into alignment with federal and state updates and laws. A summary of the changes and additions are outlined as Mr. Glenn has shared and we will bring them forward again for your approval at the following meeting. >> Okay. Thank you for the preview. And in a similar fashion, item 9B. Dr. Plin, would you like to introduce? >> Yes. This is just one board item. It's in response to recent legislation including AB49, SB98, AB419, and 495. Um, this updates board policy
062on immigration enforcement, access to schools and student uh student rights and will be brought back next meeting as an action action item for your approval. >> Great. Thank you for the overview and yes, more reading. Very important and timely subject. Um, our next item is ourformational calendar. If we can flash that up there, take a look at that. Oh, lots of things for such a short month. many many good meetings and and yet another Monday off. So everybody put your calendar in sync with this one so you know you are doing all the things you're supposed to be doing. Okay. Uh now it's time for board member reports. We will bring that down to Mr. Glenn to start us off. >> Thank you. Um, Thursday 29th of February, I attended the real deal day workshop
063with an open forum community panel led by Dr. Yusf and ESHS science teacher Miss Jill Muller. Uh the workshop focused on the day-to-day impact experienced by students and everyone with a connected device of how of AI and how the prevalence of misinformation creates a minefield for us all to navigate. We had several breakout sessions where I learned about Notebook LM. I don't know Maddie if you know about Notebook LM. Nope. It's a a Google uh app in which you can input all your coursework and use it as a tool to test your knowledge, help create presentations, quizzes, and even podcasts. And that session was presented by an eighth grader, which was quite amazing. Um, the real deal day was instigated by one of our parents, uh, Pepperdine School of Law Professor Naomi Goodnau, who shared
064many insightful tips and it was a great example of, uh, uh, school and parent engagement. So, that was really, really great. Uh, Monday the 2nd of February was literally Groundhog Day at which we re reacquainted ourselves with the annual cycle of the district budget. It did seem like Groundhog Day, huh, Kim? And we took we also took time to dive into the district goals and how they are being implemented across the district. On Wednesday the 4th, I uh along with I think all of our board members participated in World Read Aloud Day at Center Street School and our superintendent and had the pleasure of reading what I saw in the teachers lounge to Miss Hansen's very excited and excitable first grade class at Center Street. I also enjoyed reading to and reading with Mrs. Ty's
065fourth grade class, a book called When My Father Was 10, which was appropriate because most of the kids in the class were 10 years old. I left the class with a clear mandate to introduce a bring your pet to school day. So, I'm putting that on uh Superintendent Johnson, put that on your list. [laughter] >> [clears throat] >> Um, as this is our first meeting in February, it's not too late to welcome the celebration of Black History Month. This year, Black History Month is celebrating its centinery, the centinery of its founding. In 1926, Dr. Carter G. Woodson founded Black History Month to highlight the often ignored contributions of a African-Americans to American history. And I would like to take this opportunity to highlight one trailblazer. My heroine was born in the late 20th century in
066the rough and tumble multicultural neighborhood of South Los Angeles. As the precocious child of a single mom, she was street smart but also gifted, a gifted and dedicated student. She was fortunate to be in a caring environment that valued education and she excelled and graduated with good grades from Cshaw High School. Her next stop was Tugaloo College, a private liberal arts historically black college in Jackson, Mississippi, familiarly known as the cradle of the civil rights movement for its role in activism. There she joined the Alphaalpa Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority with which she still has close ties and she earned a BA degree. Education did not end there. And Daima has gone on to graduate from Harvard Business School's executive education program. Daima is the director of a national mergers and acquisition company based in Santa
067Monica. is SHRM certified and a licensed CPA. In 2004, Diana married the man of her dreams, a gentle giant whose many talents include the ability to keep a secret and [laughter] and was soon juggling her career with a growing family. In June of 2014, Daim and Andrew made the very fortuitous decision to bring their family to Elsagundo, and our town is much the better for it. Her three children, Sarah Grace and the mischievous Aaron, [laughter] are current and former students at ESUSD. Among many other interests, Daima finds time to volunteer with the National Charity League and Jack and Jill of America. Daima, it's a great honor to sit with you on this board of education. You grace our board with a vast treasure trove of experience that illuminates and informs our collective to cherish and
068nurture the good in society. Happy Black History Month. REALLY? >> Can we just skip me? Like [laughter] mine is like this. Anyway, all right. Happy Black History Month [laughter] to to all of you. Okay. Here we go. Um, I just have a couple really quick things actually. Uh, first off, I would like to thank Steve Gart. um he did a presentation last week at Rotary highlighting the pathways with an emphasis on the um biomed pathway, but it's always great as a um you know RO Rotary is a really big service um organization here in town and it's lovely when he comes and um talks to us and and highlights what the kids are doing. Um, as we were getting the donation tonight, I was thinking about, you know, my time that I've now gotten to
069be on Rotary and and have been much more active in service and um and as a math teacher, of course, it was nice that that that money was going to math as well. >> [clears throat] >> But, you know, to for some of these students to see that is really important that it's an important part of of their career and where they're going to be. So, that was exciting. Um, I did have my SoCal Rock, not my board meeting, but we had a wonderful um it's an advisory event, which was why I was not at the real deal. I was down at SoCal Rock instead. Um, and it was a great, we walked in and they had tables for every different um, class and you got to sit and you was social and we had
070dinner and you could go around and talk to the different um, teachers and they had students that were sharing their their um, their their expertise on what's going on. and then we could go and walk into the classrooms and kind of see a little bit like an open house. Um but the students were sharing um some of the wonderful events. Um I did get to sit at a table which was very exciting with two brand new program teachers. Um, so we're starting a brand new class just started like last week um in general contracting. So, which is really cool. The female instructor who's been in the business for 40 years and she was incredible. Um, she was out actually the very next day at our high school walking around recruiting. um students for her program.
071So, it was really exciting. And then the second new teacher um is I'm very excited and I didn't even know about this until I was sitting at the table with them. We are going to start offering culinary um classes at SoCal Rock next fall. So, he's setting up um some of his classes and the pathway in which he would like to be able to see um not just the adult students at SoCal Rock, but hopefully some of the students um be able to take some of the culinary classes that we're going to offer. So, that was really exciting because I didn't even know about that at that point. Um then the special board meeting that we had last week. Uh you know people don't understand that you know somebody said oh you just do two
072meetings a month. Not really. Um we I am excited to go to a lot of the events but we have special board meetings as well. And so I would like to our whole cabinet was there. Dr. Johnson was there. We were working together. Tracy had another um another event that she needed to be at. But um I appreciate the fact that you try to make them at least a little entertaining and a little fun for us. Um while being informative, let's not get carried away, but um we we do get a chance to kind of see another side. Um, and we got a chance to discuss uh not just the progress but the needs uh that we have to to continue to achieve the goals that we just set. Um, as well as kind of
073one of our favorite things in the world, the current and the projected budget that is coming along, which is um something that we have to keep our eye on. So, thank you for making that not a painful meeting. And that's my report. >> All right. >> Well, I was going to start off by saying happy Black History Month, but um but I I I do want to say with Black History Month, we know that February is the month of love and we also know kindness. And that's where I then turn to you, Frank. And and it's the perfect example of what kindness looks like when you show up in a space and you can be seen for who you are and how you show up and accepted for that. You're beautiful in all the ways
074that you show up, Frank. And you have this talent of recognizing people just for their simple steps. And so for that, I say thank you. Um, in the spirit of kindness, I do want to take a moment to talk about the student protest on Friday. And in this thank you, I want to say thank you to the high school. I want to say thank you to ESPD. And I want to say thank you to the students. The high school took great care to communicate. This wasn't a school sponsored event, but it was a schoolup supported event. the school supported the students. It's not just an easy feat for that to happen. That takes extra work behind the scenes that people never see. That's extra communication. That's walking with them. It's not a matter if they
075believe or don't believe. It's a matter of showing up because you need to. Not all students went and that is okay. But it's the fact that the students that decided to go as well as the students that didn't decide to go, they made a choice. And what we do in this school district is we equipped our students to use their minds and their hearts to make decisions that are for them. And for that, I say a strong thank you. You don't have to agree and you don't have to like everything that happened, but trust no happened. Excuse me. Let me state for the record, there were no incidents, okay? Our students left during school hours. They were protected by the police and our staff and they made it back to school to class to finish
076their day successfully. The key word is successfully. I'll end with that. The next thing that I'll say is thank you to Andrew Kelly. Thank you to Amy Grant. And thank you to all of the teachers who showed up and stood up just to have their voices heard. Again, it is about kindness and that is what we are celebrating this month and that has been displayed on the side of our teachers, on the side of our district. And for that, I am incredibly grateful to serve in this community during Black History Month. No. Um, also [laughter] but lastly I want to say that RSSP PTA did not meet last month but excuse me this month in February but they are meeting the next meeting will be on March 9th. And that concludes my report. Thank you.
077>> Thank you. Living history next to me here. Lovely tribute Frank. Well done, Andrew. Also being part of that. Um, things that haven't been covered yet already, I will say that I attended the environmental committee meeting last two weeks ago. Two weeks ago now. Um, we heard about the high school garden progress. That's a capstone project for one of our students there. We heard about uh the curriculum side of things, what uh NGSS brings forth for um environmental literacy and just an overall environmental literacy crosswalk action that we took together to to see all the levels in which we do this. So, thank you for organizing that. Uh we also talked about Earthweek planning on our campuses and a broader action plan for the committee. So, thank you Dr. Lince for organizing that and for
078everybody that is part of that team. um facility advisory committee. Frank was busy talking about other things tonight, so he didn't bring that up, but we uh we did tour the school, the site in the recent past. Wait, you weren't there, were you? Yeah, you were. You came. Yeah, you were there. Anyway, uh it is coming together. We are so excited that people will be moving in sooner rather than later. And I know you say dates. I'm not saying any dates just because I'm not going to be the one that jinxes it. So, I'm just going to say soon. Soon more and more people will be moving back into their spaces and off our campuses and sooner soon and sooner. Yes, there's a song about that. Um anyway, um it is coming along nicely and
079and we're very excited about that progress. So someday you all will get to come there and see. Um World Readaloud Day at Center Street School was a fun morning. I did get to read to two classes who were like, "How come that book was so short? Like what else you got?" But I did bring a second book. So, I'm just saying I I definitely was called out by the students to do more, and I did. Um, but I also want to thank not only the teachers that that had us in, but uh, Miss McCann for organizing it. And also, I'm going to give a shout out to Jessine Waldron with the LA County Supervisor's Office, uh, the Office of Holly Mitchell. She took us up on our offer to come and do it, and she
080had a great time. So, it was very, very fun to have a a bonus guest come into our town and and appreciate that time. Um on the very same night I was able to attend the rec uh reflections honores event at Center Street School which was amazing. Red carpet, paparazzi, all these things to salute the stars that were being honored and a beautiful fun night of of artistic celebration at Center Street. It was great. [snorts] Um the Ed Foundation, I don't have to give you a full update on that meeting that happened this morning because Miss Kan was here to do that already. But I'm pleased to be back in the room with such an amazingly dedicated and some very longtime dedicated uh board members uh doing what they can to supplement our offerings and
081programs and all the things here at at Elsagundo Unified. So I'm happy to be back in the room with them. Um I will say in the Laxa realm the next upcoming meeting is February 23rd in West Coina or via Zoom. So, you'll get an invitation to that. Well, hopefully tomorrow if I can get that out. Uh my partners at LEO uh have to take care of that part. So, we'll see if they do that. But, um the on the uh on the agenda will be a CSBA legislative advocate there to talk about Prop 98, fun things that are very important for us to pay attention to. Um we'll also have a conversation with student board members and their experience and another look at AI in the education space. But I'm just going to say right
082now, I think we do it excellently anyway. So, you know, it's nice that other districts are going to share what they have, but um they're not going to beat us. I'm just saying. Anyway, um lastly, I'll just add a bit to what Diana said to, uh thank you to all who supported our students who expressed their First Amendment rights last week and took uh a walk downtown and and expressed them. I'll say uh maybe the expressions were not everybody's cup of tea, but they were passionate. They were thoughtful for the most part and yes, no one no one was harmed in the outing that happened and it did happen in a very well organized and supported way. So I will say thank you to all involved on all sides of that. Um I'll say also
083I thank the teachers that came and spoke and those that we've seen in email as well. I have great faith in both sides of the negotiating table that we will come to an agreement. It may not be as fast as everyone wants, but actually we we do things pretty well here historically. So, I have faith that both sides will come together and we'll make this work. And uh lastly, I'll just say uh enjoy the rest of this short week and also the one that we have next week. Two weeks in a row of four days is something. So, that's it for me tonight. Thank you all for being here. >> Thank you, President TMZ. So, for the superintendent report, I'd like to open up with just thanking our volunteers for exec board positions on PTA.
084Um, that's a large commitment. Um, there's still, as I understand, some open positions there. Uh, but our PTA definitely is the X factor and the things that you mean like our community center that happen on campuses. So, um, thank you for those that have volunteered and consider volunteering. Uh the second annual giving drive um with a corporate match is coming to the end pretty soon. Um so please take a look at that. There was some messages that went out uh just tonight about um from your principles uh supporting the drive. So uh I encourage you to consider donating for the second goound. Uh on the staff side, I want to thank uh uh Brandon Grant uh he who I recently interviewed for the field marshal position that we're filling. Um, uh, great guy. You mean
085did a fantastic job in his interview. And I just want to highlight that he is a current Torrance USD employee, custodian for 13 years. Um, so, uh, Brandon, what he'll be doing is he'll be working the morning shift over at Torrance and then coming to us to work the afternoon and evening shift. Um, and this is just one example of employees who mean like who, you know, work double time, you know, in order to take care of their families. Um, and I just really appreciate hiring a person who is such high integrity, good caliber person and their service to the district. And and part of the interview which I really appreciated, we were talking about how a custodian particularly on an elementary campus is so much more than just a person who cleans up. >>
086Um, and I just um am really excited about just, you know, continuing to hire that caliber of person. You mean like for our classified positions? Uh I want to uh I also participated in readaloud day at center street. Thank you. I just want to give a shout out to Kristen McCann. Uh she is our reading specialist. She is the organizer of of this event. That is a lot of logistics involved and so just all the scheduling, the outreach to the community. Um just a big shout out to her and the center street staff. On the student side, uh I watched the [clears throat] freshman boys soccer team. Um they lost the game. It was a tough loss. Uh but I I I truly believe that uh fortunately and unfortunately so much more is learned through
087setbacks and losing. Um and at halftime, sorry boys, but the score was four to zero. And I walked away and I c I actually called Andrew cuz you know it's it's a new Frostoft coach and I said I've I've never been so impressed with watching the resilience, the effort, the toughness, the positivity on a team that's getting beat. Um and I was way more impressed than I would ever have been if they were up 4-0. Um so just kudos to those boys on the freshman soccer team. um and their their the the coach uh and just the soccer program generally, Elsagundo Athletics continues to impress uh in victory and defeat. And then on the student side, I just I I I just I've done it before, but I just want to just give again kudos
088to uh center enrichment valet. So students come in early and they volunteer um daily, sometimes alternating to uh help students get into school. Um, this is a commitment, you know, like they they they get there early. Um, and so I I just want to just call out a few names. At Center Street, Eileen, Lucy, Nora, Bella, Lexi, I'm hardly naming them all. Uh, and at Richmond, Flora, Jordan, Hudson, Benny, and Cameron. Again, hardly naming them all. There's there's about like 25ish at each site that volunteer. Um, they have different respective programs um for Senos Sheets, Cougars Care. So, I just like that's a large commitment. They do a great job. they take it seriously and it's really appreciated. So, thank you and thank you for staff that help organize. Uh on the event side, the
089PTA talent show is going to be on Friday, February 27th. I and some um uh excited uh folks are going to be helping to judge tomorrow night and Thursday night. Uh but I I just I really want to give a thank you for those that are are volunteering to perform um and to put their talents on display um to be judged. Uh, I think that that just shows a lot of character and it's and as I've I've come to understand, I'll see the official list tomorrow. It's a wide swath of people across Elsagundo. So, really excited and again, thank you to PTA for putting on the show. And then continuing on the event side, our elementary perspective family tours are on Monday, February 23rd at 9:30. Uh, encourage you to attend, encourage you to tell
090your friends, your neighbors, hey, you mean like, you know, take that opportunity to go visit. I think there's no replacement for visiting the campuses. I have been in every single classroom at the elementary schools. They are outstanding. Um, our TK and K programs are just great. Uh, so and there really is just no replacement for being there and seeing it. So, um, I I I say that as a person who has their my own kids in the in the schools. Just fan fantastic uh schools to put your kids in. Um, so be there. And then I want to give a a thank you to uh for on the board side uh Tracy for helping me to plan the budget workshop and then Daima for helping me to lead the budget workshop. So um just kudos.
091It's a team effort. It's a major investment. I think that um uh the time that our board of education puts into uh learning about budget, getting into the details, talking through goals, considering you mean like the various potential outlooks um is just well spent time and it's an investment. Um, so thank you for that time and that concludes my report. >> All right. Thank you. I just have one question. Would you rather be in the talent show or judging the talent show? I'm just curious because you seem to have a proclivity for perhaps being in front of an audience. I don't know. >> No one wants to see me in the talent show. I I I I will say I do admire if I was in the talent show though, I would for sure want
092to do a magician act. >> Oh, >> I think that would be fun. >> Noted everybody. We'll watch for that at some point to emerge. >> Okay. Well, speaking of magicians, I'm going to make us disappear by adjourning our meeting tonight at 7:21 p.m. Thank you for being here.