001Good afternoon. Welcome to the Allisal Union School District Trustees Board of Trustees meeting Salah Mesa Directiva District. I will call this meeting to order at 5:30. >> Good afternoon. Welcome to the U. Okay, thank you. Okay, we're going to go to number one, opening items. We just did a call to order. B. We're going to ask our superintendent to please do roll call and introductions. >> And I think I'm sorry. Um, can we have someone tell the crowd out there that the meeting has started in Oh, they're coming in. >> Okay, we're going to do roll calls and introductions. Mrs. Ano, President Guadalupe, Gilpas Bar, Trustee Area 4 here. Vice President Batrice Perez, trustee area five. Clerk Leticia Garcia, trustee area three. >> Here. >> Trustee Robert Okmpo, trustee area two. Uh, trustee Jesus Velasquez
002area five. I correction, Miss Pettis is area one. So, Trusty Jesus Velasquez area 5. We have three present and two uh absent. And can we get an Our meeting has started? Thank you. Introductions today with us are our three cabinet members, Dr. Fernandez, Mr. Abasi, and Mr. Diaz, and our executive senior admin assistant, Miss um Sophia Ramirez. Thank you. So, we're going to move on to the pledge of allegiance and it will be led by students from Jesse Sanchez School, Nicole Campos and Nalin Nidelini. So, if we can have them come up please and lead us. Thank you for being with us. Please stand. Place your right hand over your heart. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God,
003indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> You may sit down. >> Thank you to our two students. We're going to go on to spotlight. And I was just told by our superintendent that we have three spotlights. A spotlight is an opportunity to feature up to three minute presentation on the positive things that are taking place throughout the district. Mrs. Ano, please. Yes. The first spotlight is Mrs. Stella Rodriguez. Is it a button? Yes. Did I read there? There we go. Okay. Good evening board members, board president, community members. I am Estella Marcado Rodriguez, TK teacher at Frank Paul School. And today I am honored to um spotlight our associate uh the Eldisel Teachers Association President Amy Edwards. Amy, I had the honor of presenting the WHO award um to Amy this past weekend. It's
004an opportunity um where CTA um highlights the leaders of the locals uh in our region, Santa Cruz, San Bonito, and Santa Cruz County. And I was very and um Amy was our honore representing the LSL teachers association. And so we're very proud of Amy um her leadership um in the association, the communication, um her dedication to to our members, to our students, and um and for that we just want to say um thank you to to Amy Edwards for for her continued leadership and her role in in the relationship that we value and cherish in this district with district admin. administration. Um my second um spotlight, I I'd also like to honor and um give a big shout out and thank the staff at Frank Paul School and the community for an amazing literacy night
005that we had last um Thursday at Frank Paul school. It was very well attended, very well presented. Uh the children enjoyed themselves. Um the uh the the family resource center provided many um uh uh provided a a dinner for the families through the Monterey Food Bank. Um it was just very well organized and I just want to um compliment and commend my our staff at Frank Paul School. And then I would also like to invite you tomorrow Frank Paul School will be hosting their um open house. So, it's always uh really fun to see some of our board members, some of our educational leaders walk through our classrooms and sort of see the wonderful work that our teachers and our students are doing. So, we'll be there from 6:00 to 7:30. Okay. So, thank you.
006>> Thank you, Miss Rodriguez Mecado. Next, Mrs. Zando, >> Miss Alicia Fletcher. Good evening board members, superintendent, and members of the public. I'm Alicia Fletcher, director of migrant education, and I am proud and honored to spotlight our speech and debate award recipient recipients for the Monterey County 15th annual regional speech and debate tournament. Thanks to our committed coaches and recruitment staff, we sent 43 finalists from 10 of our 12 schools who dominated the stage and honored our district and community. This year, we were at an all-time high, taking 10 of the 12 division placements. These collegebound students embody what it means to push themselves beyond their limits, excel and triumph by representing what it truly means to be the harvest of hope. These winners are in the category of English prepared speech. First place to
007Narali Rubio Garcia from Frankfall School. Third place to Carlos Mendoza Bautista from Fremont. In the category of English extemporaneous speech, it was a clean sweep. First place to Adriana Gir from Montevea. Second place to Alana Avalos of Chavez. Third place to Pedro Ortiz Lopez of Montea. And in the category of Spanish prepared speech, it was another clean sweep. First place to Earwas Orzes from Sanchez. Second place to Jennifer Vera Lopez of Montevea. Third place to Virana Tenna from Alisel. In the category of Spanish extemporaneous speech, we have second place to Jennifer Vera Lopez of Montea. And third place to Virana Tenna Garcia Valisel. And a very special highlight to Adriana Gir and Jennifer Vera Lopez both from Montea who will represent be representing Alyssa in the 12th annual state of California speech and debate tournament.
008Normally this honor would only go to one student in the county but since they performed so well the county chose to send two students and both of them are from Allison. A special thank you to our coaches, Anna Sandoval, our migrant program specialist. Magdalena Deleon, newcomer teacher from VRB, Ramundo Navaro, sixth grade teacher at Fremont, and Natalia Aguilar, third grade teacher from Creekide. And thank you to Jose Adas for your support and highlighting the many talents of our migrant students. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> And we have one more, Dr. Fernandez. >> Yes. Good evening to our board, fellow cabinet members, and our community. So, I have the honor of highlighting a promotional video in regards to our um TK and kinder enrollment, which is it's happening now. So, it's really a
009video to highlight what Alisal is all about, about the wonderful program and services that we provide and the wonderful people that we have here servicing our students as well. So, with that, I'll let our um tech folk here take it over. Heat. Hey, Heat. Hey. So again, a lot of hard work has gone into this to highlight as shown here, the quality education, the wonderful programs that we provide and all the staff that is here to to support our students and families as well. So great opportunity to showcase what Alisal is all about. Thank you. >> Thank you. Moving on to agenda item two, public comment concerning items on the Oh, sorry. We got to vote for that first. Thank you, Mrs. Anzo. I We're going to adopt the agenda. So, we do need a
010motion. Mr. Velasquez. >> Second by Miss Garcia. All those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? 3 to zero. At the moment, uh, our other two board members are absent. So, three to zero. Okay. Now, we're going to move on to number two. Public comment concerning items on the open session agenda andor non-aggenda items. Guidelines. There will be a twominut limit for individuals and a 20 minute limit on total public comments. There's no seating of one time to other individuals. Uh, Mrs. Mz, how many do we have? We have uh 13. Okay. I think everybody will get their uh 2 minutes in the event that we don't um we do want to hear from the community. So we extended the time last time just by a few minutes and we're with the
011permission of the rest of the board uh we'll extend it by a few minutes so that all speakers can um can speak. Uh so um if you can just make sure that we can do that if you're on time at at two minutes and there's somebody taking time. So thank you and um so are the other board members okay then extending the time? Yes. >> Yes. Okay. Thank you. So we'll go ahead and call our first uh well individuals wishing to address the board of trustees on open session agenda items and other items may do so at this time. Starting time is 5:41. Mrs. Ano, will you call the first person please? >> Britney Hernandez. Hi board members. My name is Britney Hernandez and I appeared before the boards on April 1st. I am demanding
012that Mr. Porz remain as a principal of Frank Paul Elementary. I understand and respect of the public opinions and they do not align with my own. But on the meeting on April 1st, two public comments expressed agreement to the removal of of our principle. However, those two public members are not part of the Frank Paul community. Instead, if you see on the time minute of 46 with 46 and 10 seconds video shows those individuals interacting with two district managers. This raises serious concerns about coordination, bias, and compromise process and raises concerns about outside influence and conflict of interest. This circumstances call into question the fairness and transparency of the board's deciding making. Let me be clear. Parents expect decisions about our children and our school to be made with transparency, honesty, and accountability. What occurred
013on April 1st is not met those standards. On April 13, parents received a message from the superintendent stating the decision was final. Yet, no legitimate explanation has been provided for Mr. Pora's removal, declaring a decision final without justification is not transpar transparency. This is avoidance. We along with other parents are demanding a formal evaluation of the superintendent. This situation reflects a clear abuse of power. Parents are not intimidated concern and our concerns are being dismissed and decisions are being forced without accountability. That is not leadership. This is control. We will not accept decisions made behind closed doors or influenced by questionable relationships. We will not remain silent while the integrity of our school is compromised. Mr. Pores has demand demonstrated consistent leadership, stability and genuine care for our children. Removing him disregards the voices of
014the family he serves and harms the school community. I expect a full transparent investigation, clear accountability and a public response of outstanding the findings. Anything else only remains the reinforce the community loss of trust. Thank you, Mr. Jones. Good evening. Thank you for your time. My name is Travis Jones and I'm the school counselor at John Steinbeck and I'm here to talk about a petition from our school for to reinstate Jennifer Griffith, our assistant principal. We, the staff of John Steinbeck Elementary, urged the board of trustees to reverse the termination of assistant principal Jen Griffith. At a time when our school has experienced repeated leadership changes over the last few years, Miss Griffith has brought a muchneeded stability consistently and consistency and effective leadership alongside Principal Nether. Miss Griffith has led critical improvements that directly
015benefit students. She restored the SST process, eliminating a multi-year backlog and ensuring students receive timely academic and social emotional support and interventions. She has also taken a datadriven approach to reducing chronic absenteeism, helping increase student behavior through stronger systems and increased family engagement. Her introduction of structured play has significantly reduced conflicts during recess while promoting positive interactions and social emotional learning. More broadly, she has helped shift our campus from a discipline focused model to one centered on problem solving. This includes supporting students in learning from their behavior while maintaining clear and appropriate expectations. Miss Griffith fosters a healthy school climate by balancing care and accountability. She prioritizes the whole child, academic, social, emotional, and personal growth while ensuring students are held accountable for their actions. Her mentorship and staff initiatives have further strengthened campus safety
016and consistency. The partnership between Miss Griffith and Nevete has created a level of stability and effectiveness our school has not seen in recent years. Removing her would disrupt the process, the progress, and we we made an continuous cycle of instability that has impacted our students and community. We respectfully request her reinstatement as assistant principal. Thank you for your time. Miss Young. >> Good evening. I'm Miss Young, a Seinbeck teacher since 2013 and the current ATA organizing chair. Today, however, I am primarily a messenger for our students. The kids at Steinbeck took it upon themselves without prompting or coaching to write letters and gather signatures because they are heartbroken by the removal of Mrs. Griffith. The petition has 60 signatures. These letters describe Miss G as a constant positive force. Her leadership with Mrs. Navarete ended
017a year'slong revolving door of administrators under them and under them bullying is down and our kids are finally thriving. These kids can't understand why a veteran leader and a teacher of 22 years at our site is who holds them to high expectations is suddenly not a good fit. And we can't understand it either. Um, sadly, the community is aware of the conflict of interest involving board member Leticia Garcia. When family members brag about being untouchable and an educator is removed after enforcing safety protocols, it teaches kids that politics matter more than character or student safety. Our students deserve stability over politics. We urge the board to honor their request and reinstate Mrs. Griffith. I will now read their words directly. We, the kids at Steinbeck, demand to know why Miss G is getting fired. Miss
018G is a great principal and teacher. She didn't do anything wrong. She likes to help us with many things. Give her her job back. That had 60 signatures. My name is Blank and I am in a in fourth grade at Johnny Steinbeck. I want to let I want you to let Miss G stay at this school. One reason is she's a good vice principal. When a person is getting bullied, she stops it and takes care of us and the bullies get in trouble. Miss G makes us feel happy and we love her and we want her to stay. Stay is capitalized. Hello, my name is Blank and I am in fourth grade at Johnny Steinbeck. I want the school board to let Miss G stay. One reason is she checks on us when people get
019bullied. The bullies get in trouble. And there's one more. I will leave copies. Thank you, >> Dr. Cabraa. Good evening board. My name is Dr. Cabora. I'm uh own my own clinic here a medical clinic. I'm director. I'm also a director of the hospital Selenus Valley Hospital. And as a board, I'd like to thank you as a resident. I don't live in Selenus and I don't teach for the Alisaw School District, but I am a strategic partner and I'm involved thoroughly with Alisaw Union School District supporting them in many many ways with the Rotary Club. I'm a past president uh looking at the needs for our children here in this community which is my community also even though I don't live here. My heart is here in the Alisala school district. I'm in charge of
020the community advocacy committee and I'm a chairperson and I'm I am responsible and I'm pushing that the mobile clinic is here providing medical services for our community for our kids. As a board member I do recognize how difficult it is for you to be there sitting um dedicating your time making difficult decisions but with change comes improvement comes growth and these decisions are hard but thank you for your time. Thank you for your decisions and thank you Miss Anel for being here and dedicating your time with us. Thank you >> Mrs. Stella Rodriguez. All right. Um so I'm not even going to introduce myself because you know me too well. Um this um last weekend or the weekend before I had the opportunity to attend a women's conference sponsored by the California Teachers Association on
021lead on women's leadership and one of the sessions I attended was the legacy of your leadership. What is the legacy of my leadership in this district over the 25 years that I've been here? I've never been one to stand back and let it happen. I've always been one to speak up and speak truth to power, no matter how uncomfortable it may be. I've advocated for myself, for my students, and for my members in my 25 years and sometimes for some administrators. So, I didn't finish making my statements with regards to the reassignment of Mr. Boras. Um, so I was saying he is a teacher leader and has been part of the collective struggle in ensuring teacher voice and shared decisionmaking in the Alyssell school district. He is not confrontational. He gets lots he gives lots
022of thought to what he says and how he says it. To reassign him, in my opinion, is arbitrary. To say he's not a good fit for the community he helped build makes no sense. And I just want to leave you with this question. In my 25 years in this district, I have seen many things. And when I say I feel that we are heading down a slippery slope with this decision, I'm not throwing caution to the wind. I leave you with this question. Why was Mr. support us not afforded the same courtesy of an improvement plant or the reassignment to another site as many other questionable administrators in this district have been afforded over the years that I've been at Frank Paul school Gutierrez mentel Gutierrez Good evening, board of trustees, cabinet, and the ALS
023community. My name is Marina Simmon Gutierrez, and I'm a sixth grade teacher at Frank Paul. Safe, secure, supported. That is how we feel at Frank Paul with Mr. support us as our principal. As you can see from the numerous support from parents, students, and teachers, we feel very strongly about the decision that was made to remove Mr. Pas from Frank Paul. We are speaking up about this decision because we teachers know we can easily talk to him whether it is professional or personal with whatever we need. Students enjoy talking to Mr. Pas and the highlight of the upper grade students was the fishing trips with him. Parents feel comfortable talking to him and they see the way he greets the students in the morning and interacts with them. We felt blindsided by the news that
024Mr. Bores will no longer be at Frank Paul. We do not feel supported by this surprising decision. When you walk into Frank Paul, you feel the energy and warmth and that is due to the fact that Mr. Bus is our leader. The leader sets the tone for the school. There has been little to no movement of teachers leaving Frank Paul over the last 10 years because we are happy there with our principal. We are disappointed with this decision. Look at our dedication. It's clear that he has made an impact on all of us. It is going to be very difficult for our students, families, and staff to move forward from this decision to remove Mr. Bus from Frank Paul. >> Thank you, >> Miss Natalie. Good afternoon. I am a student at the Frank Paul
025School and I'm here in my capacity as president of the student council to make a request of you specifically to ask you reconsider the decision you have made to dismiss our principal Mr. Miguel Poras. My voice represents many of my fellow peers. We hope that our voices are heard rec considering an education that is truly worth of our dedication and performances as a friend Paul students student a board of directors truly wanted what is best for us. Your students to you would value the understand that learning of our principles dismiss has taken a significant emotional on many of us. If only you knew the situations that many students face at home such as the lack of stability. For example, when our parents are separated or some days we stay with mom and others with dad.
026That means that that the only way stability we have is our school. This serves as one of the ways in which many of us students feel feel complicated to ask you a favor. not to remove our principal. For me personally and for many other students as well, he has been someone who has helped us envision new horizont being a source of strength. Above all, he has fostered a sense of genuinely being well-being among us with our hearts in our hands. We that we do not want to be provided of of stability. We currently enjoy giving that our parents and teachers had already been fighting for the same cause. We now ask that you demonstrate to us what the true leadership looks like. The kind of leadership that as a governor board should be dedicated to
027educating for our well-being for and to past decisions we never made. account and to truly make us feel safe and value as a community within to Alisa district. Thank you. >> Thank you Blanca Miranda. >> Good afternoon board of uh B of trustees community and meanso. I'm here as a parent and past parent of Alisal Union. I would like to ask you to um take in consideration your decisions. I'm not here to tell you how to do your job, but when something like what's happening and has been happening in the past days, I think you need to reconsider what you do. You're violating or not following some community schools um guidelines. Some of the pillars state that um you have to collaborate with parents and community in regards to leadership. when you are choosing them.
028That's the fourth pillar and it's been ignored at every level. So whenever I seen some parents um speaking to you and I see no response or I mean those are the comments that I hear that there is no response from you guys, your seats are devoted to the community. If you hear that Mr. Poras is a great principle and children um see him perfectly and they think they are they are he's a father figure. You're violating and and um putting in jeopardy the well the well-being on the of the students mentally. That's a hardship to us. Changing from one job to another is easy but not for them. Every person means a lot in their in their fa in their lives. Alisal was awarded 7.1 million on community schools and two of the pillars that
029we are violating today or in this in these actions all of you are coming from that money. So please reconsider Mr. Porz G decisions and involve the community because community schools means you must involve the comm involve the community and you know that very well. That's all I have to say. Thank you so much. >> Thank you, Lorena Mendoza. Dear board members in Alisol Union School District, my name is Lorenna Mendula. I'm the mother of a parent school and I'm here in support of Mr. Boras. It is concerning that the well-being of our children has been affected mentally, emotionally, and physically due to the anxiety that you have caused. Today, we stand here once more with our loved ones as a community. We see the importance of our voices. We have attempted so many times
030and too many on too many occasions to communicate with one with each one of you and our voices are not being heard. It is much disappointment that you don't pres you don't represent us which the lack of care of our children for our children shows. We don't stop at we w we're not going to stop advocating. You're going to be seeing us here and you're going to be hearing us hearing from us. Um we're not going to back up until you revoke your decision in terms of uh Mr. Poras, Miss G to continue working until they decide decide otherwise. We deserve an answer and respect and that is to respond to our emails. You may reply to the parents only like reply just directly to us. You don't have to reply as a group in
031order to maintain your uh the act of brown as well. So your may there's different ways of getting back to us please. the exact way you are using the money in rem renaming the Cesar Chavez Elementary. That's exactly the same approach that we would like you to use in this case. The prompt and urgency in renaming the school is the same action we want and we know we know it is possible. It's just a matter of time. Thank you so much. Please uh consider the well-being of our students. We do have an increase in terms of uh they're not, you know, they're really feeling sad and being affected and um do your job, please. We're here to thank you, >> Mrs. Contas. There's a green. I have to press that green button. >> No, I
032think it should be on. You should see the Director Mr. Poras Mr. Porz Mr. Thank you, Mrs. Cecilia Ortiz. Before that, we're going to get the translation, the interpretation. Okay. Thank you, Mrs. So, thank you. >> Good evening. Sorry. Good evening. Uh, board of trustees. Um, I present to you and I beg of you in favor of our school, Frank Paw. Um, our students, teachers, parents, and are advocating for Mr. Porz, our principal, Mr. Torres. who has considered us family and we are family and he respects us, he values us and he takes care of us. Uh we ask from the bottom of our heart that you that you use your authority and reconsider this decision uh and please respect our family here at Frank Paul. Mr. Pores has given everything of himself and it's
033an injust act to separate and divide our family. This will never be forgotten and this has left an imprint of suffering. Uh please reconsider your decision in which all of us are part of and we would like you to respect and take us into account. We love you Mr. Horus. Mrs. Ortiz. Good evening members of the board and the comm members of the community at large. My name is Cecilia Ortiz. I have been teaching for the Ellisol Union School District for the past 27 years. Many of you, like me, are surprised that I'm standing here before you. In support of Mr. Pores, I am here to talk about um what the the great asset that Mr. Pores has been to Frank Hall Elementary School and how supported I feel. Mr. Poras tries to support teachers
034by sending us to trainings that we request or trainings that he feels we benefit from. He gives us the opportunity to observe other teachers and to learn from each other. Moreover, he helped to get materials materials and training needed for us to be successful in our teaching. I am very disappointed about the possibility that Mr. Poras will not be our Frankfall principal next school year. The uncertainty at our school has added unnecessary stress to our community. You can hear the students talking to each other about Mr. Poras and what the news reports have to say. My students have asked me questions, but I don't think that I'm the right person to respond to their questions. Instead, I asked them to talk to their parents about their thoughts, their feelings, and their concerns. What I want
035to share is that Mr. Poras is also a very compassionate individual. I will always be grateful to him for all the support he has given me both as a teacher and as a parent. A few years back, my family and I went through a very scary medical emergency. And even though Mr. Pora doesn't know the details, he doesn't know what happened, he was always there supporting me and finding me a sub. I will never forget that parents and teachers that I have talked to have shared with me that he has shared the same compassion and kindness towards them. May God bless him always. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Valerie Cruz. Hello, my name is Valerie Cruz. I am a sixth grade student at Frank Paul Elementary. I am here to speak up for Mr. Pores
036and demand answers and why you guys are letting him go. I have been at Frank Paw for eight years and Mr. Miguel Pores has shown me that I can always trust him. Every morning he is outside waving to kids and welcoming teachers and parents. He is an amazing principal who takes kids fishing and he always checks up on students to make sure they are safe. You're asking the community to voice their opinion on what type of leader they want. And we're here united together to show you who we want. Mr. Porz represents the great leader that we need. Therefore, I think you guys should consider the community's opinion in this important case. This all sums up that you guys are making a bad decision and letting him go. Mr. Porz is an amazing principal and
037we will cheer him on so he could stay as principal. Please, we need a solution and we need an answer now. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. We we may have skipped one person. I think Miss Clemente did you come up already or she >> Oh, no. >> No. Yes. I thought I had I was waiting for her. >> Okay. >> Good afternoon everyone present. I'm not here to tell you what a wonderful principal Mr. for Rases. I think we all know who he is based on the support that the people are giving him. Instead, instead I am here for two things. To remind this district who they represent. You represent the families of Alisol district. For this reason, you are obligated to do what is in the best interest of our children.
038Believe me when I say your decision will not be final. We will not sit while our schools crumble to pieces due to your politics. We We will continue to fight for our children's future. Revoke your decision to remove Mr. Poras and Mrs. Griffin. Let them complete their leadership in our schools. Our community will give you our community gave you the support as board members and superintendent to be in the position that you are. Now give us that support back. fortores. Griffin. Gracias. >> Thank you. Thank you. That was our last one. Going on to um we're still under public comment. Item two B, association comments. A LSL teachers association Good evening, board of trustees, cabinet, and the AUSD community. With 28 school days left of the school year, we are currently in the home stretch.
039ATA would like to highlight all of the hard work that is currently underway in our district with ELPAC and statewide testing, open house, Earth Day projects, and negotiations. Our students, families, staff, and administration deserve a great big shout out. So, as you roam the halls at the sites, don't forget to let them know just how much they are appreciated. Additionally, ATA looks forward to the continued collaboration and professional development around communication foundations via the LACMI conference in San Diego this summer. Also, breaking news. Um, I just found out from CTA that CTA and allies gathered over 1.6 million signatures in effort to qualify Prop 55 extension for the November ballot. So, they are currently counting, you know, validating those um, signatures and making sure that they are valid and hopefully we can get Prop 55
040on the ballot in November. Thank you. >> Thank you. California School Employees Association, chapter 577. No. Okay. United Substitute Teachers Union. No. So, we're going to go on to presentations. Everybody is welcome to stay. Um, we're going to call up Mr. Annaya, I believe, for a presentation on Jesse Sanchez Elementary School. Principal Hano Ayala Naya, excuse me, maybe we could just wait a few minutes. Some people are exiting. You you can go ahead and set yourself up here. So, you do have about 15 minutes. If you're running out of time, um, just talk real fast like they do on some of those commercials on you on TV and the radio. But, uh, thank you. So, please continue on. Good evening board members, superintendent, cabinet members, and community members. Okay. My name is Hannaro Naya and
041I am the principal of Jesse G. Sanchez K Elementary School. Next to me, our assistant principal, Luis Magdaleno, and our community school coordinator, Margarita Kamacho. >> Welcome. >> It is a privilege to be here and share the great work happening at Sanchez. Here is an overview of our presentation. Our school is named in honor of Jesse G. Sanchez, a dedicated local community leader, an attorney, and longtime LSL Union School District board member who served for 12 years before his life was cut short by cancer. Each year, we hold an assembly to celebrate his birthday. Members of his family attend the celebration. It's a special event. Our school serves students from TK through sixth grade with a total enrollment of 610 students. We offer 11 one-way bilingual classrooms, nine English language classes, and four structured English
042immersion classes. Additionally, we have three communication, social skills, moderate, severe special day classes. Our population includes 72% English learners. Okay. 25% homeless, which is the highest in our district, and 15% migrant students. In 2024, we reclassified 35 students. Okay? And in 2025, we reclassified 57 students. Okay? Of those 57 students, 22 students were fifth graders. Okay? And there was one gay student that was an SDC student that we were able to reclassify. Our goal is this year is to reclassify 70 students. We also saw growth in the ESPback results when comparing the last two years. We remained at 22% met exceeded in ELA, but we met our goal in math and science improving by more than 7%. This slide shows our progress across the California dashboards indicators from 2024 to 2025. In ELA, we moved
043from red to orange and in math from orange to yellow, both showing positive growth. A major highlight is English learner progress, which increased from red at 35.6% to green at 52%. Science is also in green reflecting growth. Chronic absentism increased slightly from 10.4% to 10.9% moving from yellow to orange. We are addressing this through our attendance task force incentives try meetings and home visits. Our suspension rate rose from 7% to 1.9% and we continue strengthening our PBIS systems and student supports. Overall, we are proud of the academic growth reflected here and remain focused on continuing this upward progress across all indicators. This slide shows the comparison between I Ready Diagnostic 1 and Diagnostic 3. As you can see, there was growth in both reading and math. However, we still have significant work to do as
044a large number of students are not performing at grade level. These are just our goals for this academic school year. We are focused on reclassifying 17% of our English learners and improving ESPback scores in math and science. We also aim to ensure that 62% of our English language learners demonstrate growth which would place us in the blue category on the California dashboard. In addition, we are working to reduce suspensions in order to reach green or blue. Okay. We are also focusing on improving our overall attendance and reducing our chronic absentism. This year we partnered with sweat 3 to facilitate our PE minutes allowing teachers dedicated time to collaborate while students participate in structured a physical education activities. They come on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Okay. and our students are really enjoying these activities and are staying
045actively engaged. Kudos to our outstanding teachers and support staff for their hard work and dedication to improving instruction at Sanchez. Hey, teachers improve instruction through teamwork and datadriven practices through our PLT meetings, super Wednesdays, the sweat time. They identify priority standards, use the vital protocols. Okay. Analyze student work and create common formative assessments to adjust instruction and better meet the needs of students. Okay. Vital. So vital stands for visibly improving teaching and learning and is a structured cycle for analyzing standards. Okay. Strengthening lessons and observing instruction and examining student work. At Sanchez, we improve students math skills through our math RTI block. Teachers provide a 30-minute math RTI block three times per week focusing on priority standards and targeted small groupoup instruction. This instruction is guided by student data and assessment results to uh ensure
046support is the support is intentional. Please welcome uh Mr. Magdaleno, our assistant principal. He's doing a great job with many duties such as overseeing our enrichment programs and uh our PBIS. Good evening everybody. It is a pleasure to be here at Sanchez. PBIS is our schoolwide framework for teaching and reinforcing positive behavior. We focus on three core expectations. Being respectful, responsible, and safe. We bring this to life through clear, consistent expectations across all classrooms along with positive recognition systems like our Hawkbox. Students earn Hawkbox for demonstrating positive behavior and use them to participate in monthly PBIS events. We also provide tiered supports to ensure all students receive the support they need to succeed. Our goals of PB or the goal of PBIS is to reduce behavior incidents, maximize instructional time and create a positive and
047safe learning environment for all students. This slide highlights our wellness team which also serves as our cost or the coordination of services team supporting students with their social, emotional and mental well-being. Our counselors, psychologists, social worker, NESS clinician provide a range of supports from counseling to more intensive tier three services. At the same time, our community schools coordinator and parent uh education specialist connect families to important resources. Together, this team ensures every student feels safe, supported, and ready to learn. Improving attendance is a key focus at our school and as we know consistent attendance is directly connected to student achievement. We've established an attendance task force that meets twice a month to review data, identify students in need of support and monitor progress. We also uh implement student incentive uh plans including individualized supports as
048well as recognition and rewards for students who meet their attendance goals. In addition, we prioritize family outreach and support by holding parent meetings uh to review expectations and when needed conduct home visits. Finally, we work closely with the district and community partners, including the DA's office, to address chronic absentism. At Sanchez, we focus on building college and career readiness early on. We provide college exposure opportunities, including field trips like this year's visit to Calpali. Our students also engage in science and career exploration. At science camp, our fifth grade students explore careers through hands-on experiences, STEM careers. We also have our upcoming career day where community members share real world career pathways. All of this is grounded in building strong academic foundations in reading, writing, and math while also developing leadership uh and goal setting skills.
049We have the extended learning programs which are open to all of our students. Our before school program run from runs from 6:30 to 8:00 a.m. providing support in reading, math, and enrichment. During our afterchool program, we provide adequate time for homework, physical activity, and a quality enrichment program that throughout the year introduces our students to different activities such as art, theater, um, drones, Legos, and more. We provide targeted support through our LPC Academy to prepare students for the LPC assessment and support English development. Additionally, uh, our third through sixth graders have the opportunity to participate in sports such as flag football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, and and this year, our first and second grade students are now able to participate in soccer as well. Furthermore, in collaboration with the Hartnell College Foundation throughout throughout the year,
050we offer Saturday programs like uh the Steam Academy in NASA. Overall, these programs give our students opportunities to stay engaged, build skills, and grow beyond the classroom. Please welcome Margarita Kamacho, our community schools coordinator. She's doing a great job increasing parent involvement and engagement at our school. >> Good evening everyone. Thank you for the opportunity to present on community schools. This year at Sanchez Community Center, we've really focused on strengthening our relationships with families. Not just reaching out, but truly connecting. that starts well simple things like our morning greetings u and carries out through um into our um ongoing programming. I want to highlight three quick quick examples of that growth. First, our cofficestos have more than doubled from about 20 families to over 50 per session. It's been great to see parents building connections
051with each other. Second, during the holidays, we partnered with local organizations like the Alisa Rotary and the Prun Prunell Grocery Outlet to distribute over 250 turkeys to our families and staff, helping ease seasonal stress. And third, through our work with Selena's Valley Live Well program, we took learning outside the classroom. We walked with parents to a local market and worked hand on hand reading labels, comparing prices, and making the most out of a tight budget. All of this is really about giving families practical tools and a strong support system. As I want to give a quick shout out to Adriana Velasquez, uh she's our parent education specialist, but was not able to um be here with us today. She does an amazing job personally reaching out to families and making those connections happen. We also
052focus on supporting the whole child through schoolwide events. Our first PA was a great example of that. Everyone came together from teachers to custodial staff to our wellness team to make it happen. Our community partners have also been incredible. We were able to give every student a toy during the holidays, provide bikes as attendance incentives, and organize a jacket giveaway for families in need. This was made possible by generous donations from the Ruvio Foundation and the Sah family. Our math festival had an amazing turnout. It's been really encouraging to see families getting more involved in academics as well. And finally, taking a quick look at our data, we're seeing a real shift in impact. We increased our Mckin Vento by 50%. Bringing the total to 256 students now connected to important support and resources, making
053us the school in our district with the most homeless and foster students. We've also reached 40% enrollment in Cal Kits and help families with applications for unemployment, disability, medical, and much more. So, it's not just about meeting immediate needs. We're also helping families plan ahead and build more stable futures. And this concludes our presentation. Thank you so much. And we're open for any questions. >> Thank you very much. I'm going to start over here on my right with Miss Garcia to see if she has any questions or concerns or >> um thank you for this great presentation. I do appreciate um it was well put together. I Yeah, this is a wonderful present. So tell me a little bit about the before school program. I am so glad that you somebody that in the school
054and I don't know if other schools have it. Okay. I just I I I don't ever recall hearing that before school presentation. So that I mean before school program which I think I had mentioned a couple years back because I felt like wow you know um parents need a place to drop off their kids before they head off to work and that was always my problem. I just had to pay for it and I am so happy that there's a school that has this. Can you just tell me a little bit more about that? How does that work? And do you just automatically get in? Is there a cost? Is there is it just Yeah. Can you just elaborate a little bit more? >> Yeah. So, so basically we're one of the sites that we
055get funds for the deport program. Okay. And there is an application that the parents need to complete as well and it runs from 6:30 till 8:00. Okay. This year we had two teachers working. Okay. Uh and we had about was it about 30 students, Mr. Moleno? >> Well, closer to 40 students enrolled in the before program. And it helps a lot with our parents because, you know, some of them Yeah. Some of them can drop them off and then go to work. Okay. Uh at 6:30. Okay. So, so yes. So, this is we this is uh every year we actually have it and we we until the funds run out as well because they do run out as well. >> Is it part of the ELOP? >> Okay. It's >> It's ASUS. Yeah, it's ASUS.
056Correct. >> Okay. So, it's a different funding source. >> So, yes, it's an actually a a program at MLK. It's a funding source for MLK and Sanchez. they've been grandfathered in through the state because it was originally um part of the ASES and as they were eliminating it the two schools were able to keep it but elop can also you can also use ELU money for before school right I mean I remember looking at that grant a while back >> but thank you I really do appreciate that I'm I'm almost certain that the parents that are going to your program really do appreciate having a place to drop them off that was always a big problem as a working mom, how where do you put your kids when you have to be at school at
0578? It's so hard. So, thank you for that. And uh >> yeah, and it's usually like 30 to 40 every year. >> Thank you. >> This is something that they asked for. They you know, since the beginning >> since the beginning of the school year, this is their asking, okay, when is the before school program going to start? >> Right. and uh you know and we do see the need you know sometimes coming in uh really early and then seeing uh um children dropped off right we open the doors for them but it's always best for them to be inside a classroom >> so you know we're lucky to have this this program at sun >> right and thank you for this presentation it was well put together thank you so much for your team
058thank you >> thank you um Pressy Perez >> I just love all the engagement you guys have for the students it shows in your pictures and I hear it from people. So, awesome job on that. We just have to work a little bit on the chronic abs and rate, but good job, guys. Thank you. >> Yeah, thank you. Um, Mr. Okmpo. >> Oh, there you go. Oh, thank you for the presentation. I thought it was it was well done. It's nice to see some growth. Uh, it's always good to see growth. So we we hope to con see to continue to see that in in the different you know areas science, math, uh English and and so forth. Uh I did want to ask you um if you could expand a little bit more on
059you said you have that you're involved in schoolwide efforts uh to promote a a collegegoing culture. I wonder if you could expand on that a little bit. What are what are some of the efforts? What are some of the things that you do to promote a a collegegoing culture at your school? >> Well, one one of the the the things uh how I was uh explaining like for example the I said it uh in the fifth graders, right? When they go right now they're at science camp, right? So, as they're doing the different activities, um there's there they there's always a mention of of this type of a uh let's see, a career, right? depending on the activity that's going on. They mention, okay, you know, if if you're interested in doing what we're doing
060right now, you know, this is the career path that you want to take. These are the the type of uh careers that do this work, right? Same thing. Uh um the goal is to always take them to at least one one field trip in uh to go to a college, right? Uh this year is a CPA. Last year it it was uh I believe CSUMB. >> Yeah. And um so and the students get excited, you know, they go over there, they visit these colleges and uh I remember some students uh mentioning if that was New York when they went to uh CSUMB. So you know if if they is opening their eyes to you know there's more than than uh than Selenas, you could go further right as f as far as you you would
061like. >> Yeah. Okay, >> if I can just add as well, we are planning a career date May 22nd. All of you are invited as well. We are looking for a board member if any of you are is interested as well, but we'll have a police officer, a firefighter, and so on. So, we're working on that May 22nd. Okay. All of you are invited to attend. Why don't you sign me up for the board member? >> Oh, there you go. Thank you. >> You want someone to talk about kind of the job, I guess, of being a board member. Is that what you're saying? Is that what you mean? >> Correct. Yes. Correct. Oh, because I was I was a high school counselor for 40 years. I'd rather talk about being a high school counselor.
062>> Students might ask you some questions and so on. So, it would be a fun day. >> Okay. Very good. Thank you. Thank you for that. >> Thank you. We'll move on to Trusty Velasquez. >> Yeah. Sanchez has a special place in my heart. The second school I um attended when I started going to school because we were migrant and I think it was one of about like six or seven schools I went to as an elementary kid. Jesse um was a real good friend. Sorry about that. But he was a good family friend. >> We met him um when we first moved into this town. Uh he lived we used to live in farms and the family lived not too far from there. Yeah. So, um it was nice that they named the school
063after him. But anyways, um yeah, that school's always had a special place in my heart for that. >> But excellent presentation. What I did want to say is I think um I heard that you had Ariana Velasquez there doing very successful things. I think it's all contributed to her last name. You know, just prejudice, but I I do believe that that's helping her quite a bit. Um anyways, um just uh just want to say I thank you for your presentation. was very nice done and you know appreciate everything you did. >> Thank you and hopefully you can attend our Jesse Sanchez event next year. >> Thank you. And and also I was able to I'm sorry were you finished? Uhhuh. I was able to go um I think the the school celebrates his birthday. Yes.
064>> And some of his family members go every year >> and I was invited to have lunch with him. It was really a privilege to to do that. So that might be something you want to think about for for next year. Mr. of Velasquez. It's it is it was really nice to sit there and and talk to them, you know. So, I I don't have any questions or comments. Maybe a real quick one, if you could just say in one word for each three of you, what is it that makes you proud the of being a staff member at Jesse Sanchez School? Just >> I'm going to just say teamwork. >> Teamwork. >> We are work as a team. >> Awesome. >> Mr. I would have to second that teamwork. >> Now you're all going
065to be a team and >> that's awesome as well. >> That's great over there. >> That's great. It's related. >> See, and that's what we want when you come and and and present to us. I mean, the data is important. All of that's important for you to all share, but it it's good for you to share what you're proud of of your school or something that's not a script or something just what you feel. And um I think it was it was a great presentation and we thank you and we forward we look forward to another time where you can present on your school. Thank you. >> If Miss Velasquez was here, I think she would say it'd be her last name. >> Now, who is who is that? Your wife? >> No, I don't
066know who she is. I don't know. Okay. I say okay now. >> He just has a real nice last name. >> Oh, a parent. Okay. Awesome. All right. Thank you. >> Oh, okay. Thank you. Thank you. So, now we're going to go on to department presentation. We're under presentations number three. Gentlemen, we're on department uh presentations. Human resource update assistant superintendent human resources. Here we go. Good afternoon, board, superintendent, Alisa staff, students, and families. My name is Jose Diaz, assistant superintendent of human resources. Join um joining me today is Lauren Erikson, program manager of HR. And you know, I'm just going to start off by being a little vulnerable. Um we had a a conversation earlier about, you know, when you're growing up. I've never really heard any stu any child say, you know what,
067when I grow up, I want to be in human resources. You don't get that. There's pictures of me as a three-year-old in suits, halfway there. But you know when really kind of grows up saying that. Um hopefully after today. That's an open invitation to for me to go in career days. There you go. So hopefully we can kind of change that a little bit after today. Uh so today we're here to really talk about not just what is going on with human resources currently. What is our vision? What do we want to do? What is our intentions? And pretty much our action plan for the next few years. And so one of the things that you know is just understandable in in my career is that HR plays a critical role critical role in building
068strong schools. So effective HR systems ensure that every employee has the resources clarity and support that they need to succeed. And so when HR works well and it's effective the entire organization benefits we are you know a division that from the entire life cycle of an employee. So from that first click on edge join when they are interested how are we promoting ourselves on having someone envision themselves of like that could be me you know current employees thinking about moving on up seeing themselves in certain positions. We are a division that goes to an entire life cycle from before they even enter as an employee to even all the way to retirement. They'll remember carrying memories of how we treated them, how we supported them, the impact that they made. And so modern HR practices
069not only go beyond paperwork and compliance, they really do create the foundation for a positive workplace culture where people are feeling valued, they're heard, processes are fair, and leadership is empowered to make effective u decisions with their teams. And so a little bit of of what the action plan came from and where we get these. So um in 2020 at the end of 2020 there was a FICMAT report fiscal crisis and management assistance team review and recommendations and on my first day on the job I think it was even prior they told me about this report and they were giving me and it's about you know 50 60page report a lot of really useful information uh came to light on what the job entails what we needed to improve on and so some of the
070things that were highlighted in that report was that HR did not have a protocol policy for customer service that HR's uh the departments didn't have job descriptions and personnel uh they didn't match to what employees were actually doing and that it really demonstrated a lack of direction from upper management in in human resources. You know the report also talked about inequitable practices in the discipline process. It talked about preferential treatment, preferential hiring. And so these are all things that were put in this report. And so you could imagine first day on the job and you're thinking, how do I even approach this? And that is sometimes a scary thought. You get stuck in this analysis paralysis phase, I put a whole spreadsheet together, found out that there was probably more than like 60 urgent items
071to actually accomplish um in my first few years. And so with that, one of the things that is just useful is to really organize uh organize them into some priorities. And so one of the things that you know that we started we started focusing on as a team was what exactly are we working on and the why. And so we started having a lot more conversations as a team about our priorities and what we wanted to do um as a division to really support the board goals, the superintendent vision, and just the overall community um request of our district. And so in front of you, sorry I'm go back this real quick. That was me clicking too much. Um what you have on the screen is a one pager that you have and I'm not
072going to get into much of the details right there. Uh but we're going to just talk about the strategic priorities an overview of that. And so this ACE framework talking about aligned systems, right? Aligned systems that really represent the foundation of our HR transformation. We're building sustainable practices and clear operational processes that really reduce not only bureaucracy but increase transparency across all HR functions. We're not a secretive organization. We're not some, you know, secret group and and we really want folks to know what we do. You know, if it's how we can support you, great. Let's have that collaborative conversation. If it's a no, you can't do that. Well, let me help you understand why. You know, that's that's the roles that we play. And we're not afraid to actually communicate with folks as to
073those reasons. And so, also, the sustainable practice is really important because it shouldn't revolve around one person, right? a sustainable team, sustainable functions, shared purpose, shared goals should really just run automatically regardless if like if someone's in or out of that role. My team is really we're really developing and really understanding how we improve um and keep it for the long run. Strategic priority number two, a commitment to building trust really starts with how we treat every single interaction as an opportunity to demonstrate care, fairness, and respect for all employees and community members. You know, that's key. It's not necessarily it's a reframing of sorts. It's not complaints. It's an opportunity. How in this conversation can I tell you what we really value, what we really want to be about and what how we're going
074to support you? And so, we don't take any of those opportunities for granted. Um, and so one of the things that we need to do is really rebuild that trust coming from not only our division, but every single interaction, how we support employees, how we listen to community members. And I hear it all. You all can imagine HR we are the complaints department for the most part. And strategic priority number three focus is really building capacity. Building capacity and skills and systems that really help leaders at every single level in supporting their teams and driving student outcomes. I say that at every single level because regardless if you are in the office staff whether you know happy administrative professionals day today by the way you are a leader in every role that you play and
075everybody contributes to our shared vision and shared purpose of this district. So how do we support you at every single level as a leader? And you know we all know like titles don't automatically give you that that leadership aura of to run you know programs or just have influence in a community that could be I know a lot of even like the crossing guards have a lot of influence or custodians have a lot of influence and so leaders at every level really building the capacity and growing their skills and supporting them. So those are overall um you know strategic priorities and so that long list that I talked about really falls into those buckets. Now some of the little highlights I would say of enhancements not changes but enhancements that we've done since my time
076here has really been about um reducing um making things more efficient I would say right reducing interview time and onboarding for certificated substitutes uh screening our hire and screening and hiring panels are now digitized and more efficient uh HR screening is doing is been being done a lot quicker than before um classified hiring really empowering our hiring managers to understand the role that they have and actually making that final decision. One of the things that we're exploring is establishing the set testing calendar for classified positions. Not just, oh, we have a position open next week. Let's see who's available to come in and test. It really is how do we provide a set calendar for folks because we know the community, they want a job, we need to give them enough heads heads up and
077enough notice to rearrange your schedule so they can come and get tested to be um eligible to apply for some of these positions. um on onboarding with increased responses. We are reducing cost overall by reducing paper and mailing use. One of the things we do is using technology to make things a little bit more efficient for us. So what used to take days and cost money now takes us hours and is free, you know, and that's free is always a good word with us, you know. So um really reducing that and seeing how efficient we can be. The other thing that we'll do of that we're working on is absence management. um reviewing of salary and job descriptions in response to that Pikmat report um constructing HR toolkit for managers, right? Not just um being
078the the the collaborative partner in discussions, but empowering the leaders to say, "Hey, this is you need, you know, give me a call if you need help. Here's a document that we can review." So, it's really about that uh building capacity in all our leaders. And one of the highlights of our enhancements is actually the joining of Miss Lauren Ericson here uh to human resources and she's going to talk a little bit about educator effectiveness. So currently I'm elevating our existing processes and programs such as our I'm streamlining our current programs such as our teacher induction program and our cultivating alis mentoring program as part of the I'm working as part of the strategicated teacher evaluation committee to realign our teacher evaluation process to the revised CFTP and revamping the evaluation process to focus more
079on professional growth. Um, I'm also bolstering our current processes such as professional grow student our welcoming of student teachers, teacher residents and service learners by keeping lines of communication open and by acting as a relon between those between the district and those stakeholders. I'm also providing ongoing boots on the ground support for our new teachers and their mentors. So that's what I'm currently doing. The future for our department in terms of educator effectiveness is just creating stronger, more effective systems of growth and support. Um, continuing to advocate and strengthen our training and support for our bilingual teachers. Continuing collaboration with ed services to ensure professional learning aligns with our district goals. Uh, specifically currently teacher clarity. Um, building capacity. We are coping also mentors who support our newest our district's newest teachers and those are
080the teachers that are currently working on earning their still continuing to foster and build relationships with community stakeholders such as PSDL and MCE and then the last but not least is increasing our efforts to promote educator wealth. So that was an overview of course um and we can we can be here for hours and hours and talk about HR. Um and so what you have in front of you right here is the the current I would say um mission vision statement. It's very compliant heavy. You have just the procedures evaluations employee you know employee employer employee relations negotiations. And so one of the things that we did as a as a team was really talk about what is the HR division that we want to be. And so we have here a new mission and
081vision for us that says, you know, that we as a as a human resources division, our mission is to really attract, develop, support people through innovative, equitable, and human- centered practices that strengthen district culture, and empower employees to thrive in the service of students and community. By doing so, we will be a modern, people- centered human resources division that inspires confidence, sparks innovation, and strengthens a collaborative culture where staff and students thrive together. And so this is really important for all of us when we really talked about what kind of HR we want to be HR division we want to be because we have to put students and community in that and in many HR divisions and missions they're not people don't see themselves as having the student impact and I am so confident and
082proud of my team that they know that every technical HR function and procedure that they do they understand the impact that it will have on students. But they understand why we need to onboard quicker, get teachers in the classroom quicker. Substitutes, they understand their role in this district structure. And so with that, just a little spe special shout out and thanks to the HR team. This is not a oneperson, you know, Rodeo kind of a thing. I learned how to say that here in Selenas now. Here we go. Uh but um you know th shout out to to to George Lauren Sai Moes Maria Isel Elizabeth Ruby and Marita because they have really uh just welcome me and also been really collaborative overall and we wouldn't even I wouldn't even have the opportunity to speak
083to you about all the accomplishments we've had in the last seven months. Yeah, seven months I've been here and done so much without them just really saying, you know what, let's do this. You know, let's dive right in. We're in it. We're we're collaborative. We're going to be open. Um there's a lot of just discussions of how we want to be and so I really just really just from the bottom of my heart really appreciate them. I appreciate all the support I've gotten from the district. Uh shout out to the community members as well. Um for real just learned so much and just super proud to be part of this community. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. Um we're going to um ask our board members if they have any questions. I'm going to
084start here on my right with Miss Garcia. >> Oh, thank you for this presentation. And I really like that you're streamlining the process, right? It sounds like you're very you're stream you're going there. You're streamlining everything which is I think really good because that way you get like you said you get the teachers back in quicker in the classroom and anybody that's in class if I can get the into the jobs quicker. That's a real good thing. Um I know this is a very small community. It's really tightknit and tonight you heard that I'm apparently I'm related to somebody that I know of but it's fine. Um it there's so much people here that are related. So uh and I take nepotism very seriously. So I I'm wondering how that's being handled in your department.
085>> Yes. Um so one of the things that we started doing was really understand you know why is that even happening? And so we started having different layers to our not just screening process but also the interview panels. And so before my time here, I realized that they were all happening at the same time, right? The same person who was screening for minimum qualifications were also part of the hiring panel. And so to do that was no human resources, we screen for minimum qualifications, right? We make that job, we collaborate with the hiring manager and if there happens to be a level one and a level two of interviews, then we make sure there's a separation of that. We also have conversations about recusing oneself. Hey, you know what? You are related to this person.
086you may want to sit this part this part of the panel out and you have to trust the people that you put on the panel to make that decision for you. And of course that's going to be a little struggle in in growth areas and and and how we implement that. But it's really important that we do so so that we can actually protect ourselves as a district to say the p best person got the job regardless of relationships. >> Right. Thank you so much for that. And also one more thing and um is there any pathway for administrators like in other words um I know you you know we talk a lot about teachers and that's wonderful because we need teachers and we need classified but I know that there's a lot of good
087teachers out there that in the past have taken on leadership roles. Is there any pathway to administration that route >> to administration or administration >> to administration >> pathway to administration? So, that's something that we can definitely start exploring. Um, I'll add it to my list of like 70 things to do. I'm >> asking if you have it. I didn't, you know, no pressure. >> Nothing. Nothing right now. Right now, it's sitting. This is something we're always talking about, thinking about. >> Very good. Thank you so much for for this presentation. >> Thank you, >> Trusty Pettis. Just an awesome explanation on the human resources and I love the wording for the mission and vision. what it says there. And also a shout out to you for bringing all the job descriptions up to date
088>> currently and you know staying away from the pack. So thank you. >> Thank you for your hard work. >> Thank you Mr. W please. >> Uh yeah I just want I want to thank you for your energy and your commitment and uh you really seem to be into it which is great. So, thank you. Thank you for for that. You know, the the Figmat report has been around like forever, I think. For as long as I can remember. So, >> it's about five and a half years old. >> Yeah. So, I'm finally someone's taking it seriously. You're addressing it. So, thank you for that. Also, uh yeah, I think that you know the issue of preferential treatment and preferential preferential hiring has has been on the minds of a lot of board members. So,
089so I'm glad you're addressing that and you're putting in uh you know systems to make sure that doesn't happen or to alleviate the possibility of of that happening. So, so I'm I'm I'm glad I'm glad to to see that. Uh I'm Well, there's a lot of things here, but I think the the just the last thing I want to say because I don't want to go on forever is um um and you know, this is just something that I'm would like to see. I I know you're busy, right? If you have time, I'll add another one to the list if >> if you have time. You know, I I really would like to see if it's at all possible, you know, some effort to try to bring back teachers from Mexico to come and on
090some sort of visa and uh come and work with with our students. I know I know that's very complicated. You know, I know there's a lot of paperwork. There's a lot of dealing with two countries, finding housing, on and on. You know, it's extremely complicated. uh years ago, I remember that there used to be uh teachers, I think, with at the high school district that would come in and and teach our students. And I would like to see that if that's if that's possible at all. Just just a suggestion, you know. Uh I don't know. I just it's my own personal thing. I think I think that that like you know, teaching our cultura to students is really really important because I think that our cultura has a lot to offer. So I have this
091idea that teachers from Mexico would be able to do that. I mean not all teachers but you you pick and choose but I'm sure that there are some wonderful people that could come and teach me to our teacher to our students from Mexico along with you know the other subject matters that they're talking about. Probably I would imagine it would probably mostly for English learners maybe I think I'm not sure but but that that's just my my own personal thing. I think we will be exploring that, but uh with immigration reforms that happening right now, it's making it tougher and tougher to do that. Uh but we're constantly on the back of our minds of when we're ready to do so. We will explore that. >> Thank you, Mr. Okampo. Mr. Velasquez, >> um I'm
092not sure if that house is still available, but didn't the school district own a house right here on um on Gardener that uh at the time back then when we did bring teachers from Mexico, they would partner, you know, they all were staying in different rooms in there, but it was a house that I'm not sure if we even still own it, but it was a house that was owned there and it was used for that intent. Um so when teachers did come from so they have a place to pay um and following along the lines of Miss Garcia um with regards to um about um a pathway to for teachers to become administrators. There's a book um that we talked about about called from good to great and it talks about promoting from within
093and how you uh bring in um the the right people um after they you know get some program set up like if you're doing a set up and uh you promote from within. I I know that not every position can be brought in with uh with people from within, but a lot of positions can and we talked about having the right people sitting on the on the bus, but it'd be a good book to read, you know, to explore that area, promoting within. Appreciate that. Thank you. >> And just to answer the question on the house, it's actually um MLK's family resource center now. It's not at the house anymore. >> Okay. Thank you. Anything else? Okay. Thank you. Um I just I had a couple question. What's a uh cultivating ALS mentor? >> Our
094cultivating ALS program is the mentoring program that we have for teachers who are still working on earning their teaching credential. >> Okay. And so they're um matched or partnered with a mentor at their school site typically. >> That makes sense. Thank you. And like Miss Fettis, I'm I'm really glad to see what your vision your mission vision statement says and because I've always said, well, where's the human factor of human resources and I think yeah, we was lost for a while. You saw it in the Pikmat report. Thank you for not leaving after reading it because yeah, it was a heavy report, you know, but I'm I'm glad that you mentioned it. Did you want to comment on that or >> I don't know. I love a challenge. >> People who know me know I
095I I don't run away from that stuff. I really want the opportunity to build. >> Thank you. >> That was my >> Welcome to LSL, Mr. The >> Maybe later we'll talk about my first day here. It was >> okay. Thank you. Yes. And then Yeah. You know, but we've come a long ways and I think you're doing great great work there. We're very, you know, this this board and some of us who have been here for a while and you don't want to delve too much into the past, but the first thing someone asks you, where are you going? You say, where are you coming from? Right? And and we came from where that wasn't happening. You know, we we it wasn't fair to people who wanted to work for ALS. And so now
096I'm glad that it could be somewhere where people say yes, you know, go apply there, you know, and as far as I know that it's hard um because sometimes we can't respond when there's public com but I am going to say something. I have seen Miss Garcia more than any other board member excuse herself because there may be a conflict when we're in close session, you know. So to say that, you know, she's showing favoritism to um family members, I don't know. I've never seen that I as and I work with her and like I said I have seen her walk out of that room and say this is something that I you know very fair you know so I think that I I just felt the need to say that we have a really
097good team here we have a great team to work with here I I believe and and sometimes it you know we're the team that picked Mrs. Anzo and that was able to put you in that position because of her. she does the hiring, not not the board and our and our cabinet members. And and sometimes things don't go people's way, but we are sure trying our best to make this the best place, not only for our students, but for our staff. And you're right, your department has a lot to do with that. So, thank you for the presentation and for the information. And thank you for taking the challenges. >> Thank you'all. Okay. So, we're going to go on to board reports. This time I'm going to start here on my left with Mr. Velasquez.
098Anything to report? No. Mr. Okampo? >> Uh, no. I'm good. >> Thank you. Uh, Miss Garcia? >> No, just looking forward to the open houses that are scheduled for tomorrow. A lot of them on a Thursday. So, yeah. Thank you. >> And Miss Peris. Okay. Nothing here either. So, we'll go ahead and go on to um Oh, this the main domain, Miss Anzo, the superintendent. Please, I just want to reinforce earlier what uh Mr. Diaz said. Today is U Adam and assistance day um our secretaries, a lot of our support staff, if we didn't have them supporting us, exactly that's what it is, we wouldn't get our job done. So, we want to make sure we appreciate them. And today a lot of them have were celebrated. Some of them been celebrated all week. We
099did a small celebration this morning for our team at the district office. So again, thank you for all you do. Thank you. So moving on then to number five, consent agenda, approve, ratify contracts, agreements, grants, proposals, conferences, workshops, and field trips. This is an action item. So I need a motion, please. Uh, so move >> Mr. Okmpo. A second. Second >> by Miss Perez. Are there any comments or questions from any of the board members in the consent agenda? >> Yes. Um I saw that there was a several um proposals by different construction company management construction companies but I didn't see that there was other um like like it went through a bidding process I did see it on some of the other orders but there it looked like there's just one um or were
100they the bids not included in this I see like we got DBEC we got um ES and and I can't remember which other one. Um, but there was like three different construction companies or two maybe three different construction companies that didn't have um like a bidding process. It was just one bid it looked like. >> What item are you looking at? Um like for example AB aa >> aa >> ae >> um >> then like change change orders for JL was there was there no bidding process in this or all right to begin with the AA so AA is a construction management service so it's a consulting service we do not need a bidding process for that. >> But why not? I mean because uh this he's already on the list. We have a list
101of construction managers. So when we have someone on the list, same goes with architects. We have architects on the list. So we pick one of them because we have already gone through the process. Uh moving on to item AB. This is $14,875. If something is under KUKA list, which is about $68,000, we do not have to bid for the process. We usually get quotes from proposed companies and we go with one of them. Gilbach has done many good projects for with us in the past, similar projects. So, we like this company because of their performance and it's a smaller uh project, so we can simply pick them and do the job. Uh let's see. >> It looks like there's an AE. >> AE again. This is 53,176. It's under Kapka list. Kapka is one of
102the state procedures for construction management services or public projects. If something is under $68,000, we do not have to go through the bidding process. We can pick a contractor who has done a good job for us in the past and in this case we don't deal back and concerns they have done similar jobs uh for us in the past >> and then ag request >> change orders are something which are slightly above or more than the original scope of the project. For that we do not need a bidding process. Uh since a project is already going on, we approve the additional work they're going they're already doing. It just needs uh small minor changes to the original uh scope of the work. This is altogether the total of all the change orders is $56,000. It's
103way below the limit. Uh it's originally about $16 million project. >> I would say that if um if you look at change orders and then compare it to the bid if there would have been a bid sometimes when you add all these change orders into it you've gone beyond some of the other bids that were probably uh lower but I I know we had a policy in the past where I think it was like $20,000 they didn't have to go for bid but they're saying they don't have to go for bid for 68,000 I think >> it's a in case of change orders it's a state law if it's a more than 10% % of the additional contract price we have to go out and bid. This is $16 million project 56,000 out of 16
104million is almost nothing. It's way below 10% limit. If the scope of the change is more than 10%, we do go out to bed or we talk to our lawyers because the project is already going on. We cannot change the contractor in the middle of the project. So we like to see that we can have some kind of flexibility in keeping the same contract and keep on going. >> Yeah. But what I'm saying is that a lot of times these change orders add a lot to the price to the original bid >> when you compare it to the original bid. It's sometimes not >> they've gone beyond what other bids were were done. >> Yes. And that's what I was saying that if a single change order is more than 10%. Yes. By law, we
105have to go out, but this is way less than 10%. 56 is actually total of about four or five different change orders. It's not a single change order. >> Yeah. I still think we need to go through the bidding process for for a $68,000 job. I mean, that's a lot. I'm sure there's a lot of other companies out there would probably um challenge what they're doing. And I know you might be happy with what they're doing, but at this point you're not giving others the opportunity to bid, probably save some money. >> Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Mr. Velasquez. Um, Miss Garcia or I I did have a a couple and I won't be long- winded about it because time's passing by, but I did want I did have some questions and I wanted
106uh for I guess maybe Dr. Fernandez to elaborate a little bit more on item G and J and this is to contract um special ed teachers. And when you read this agenda on the onset, it says, "Hey, why are we contracting out?" >> And um I just wanted to ask that you give us a little bit more information about why this is. >> Yes, most definitely. So our special education numbers continue to grow and as such our service minutes as well. So and to ensure that our students do not have any type of gaps or holdups in providing them with the services that they need, we must ensure that we have that backup plan. And so what's made it really difficult is that these positions are so specialized that there special um um certification and
107licenses that they are required to have. So um there's a a national shortage if if I may say when it comes especially in school systems and being able to find um folks with these proper credentials and and licenses to be able to provide these services. So while on the one hand we continue to um post these positions and in hopes of recruiting the right candidates, we also need to ensure that they have the right qualifications and they're able to provide these services. So again the the intent and the hope is that we're able to fill from within. Um but unfortunately that has not been the case. So to ensure again that we're not falling behind in providing the services um needed by our students, we need to have um additional support at this time. So,
108can you repeat the part I didn't quite hear? So, why haven't we been able to use teachers that are already here from within? Why is that? >> Because their case load as it is is is very impacted right now. So, they also need some additional support to be able to manage the the case load that they've been assigned to. Um and and in that ensuring that all students are being provided with the services that they need. So, ensuring that we have the proper IEP services listed and also the minutes that each student um is receiving. So we already have a high number of students um receiving services in addition to new referrals coming in. >> So if I sorry miss but if I'm a teacher like in I'm teaching >> fourth grade and I want
109to apply for SLP I have to have very special credentials and a special license to be able to to qualify for that. >> And do we not in the district do we not have teachers that have that? >> No. It has been very challenging. the ones that we have are are here with us. Um, but they're already at high capacity and we are posting for these positions, but it's been very difficult to fill them. >> So, would would the ones that are that are from uh what is it? I I No, no, that's is it the same? It's not the same one. Well, are they they're qualified. Are they going to get paid more than what our teachers would get paid? >> Not necessarily. We always try to project higher to ensure that we have
110the the the funding available but it's really being um a charge against the services or the minutes that not the minutes but the service that they actually provide. So it might not necessarily end up being that high amount but nonetheless we do have to have that amount encumbered in the in the given case that we need to to provide that service. >> Okay. Thank you. Thank you for that. And then my uh other one is item T, the re that's the revised agree a agreement with the IBridge educational and career services and they bring sped teachers um that are the Filipinos, right? And so I guess they aren't having a immigr a trouble getting their visas or so forth. But but that's not my question. My question is and through it was through a conversation
111when we were going through the agenda. The teachers they're saying that they're qualified but yet they're not having the experience in these fed classes and is that affecting the services that our students are getting. >> I don't know who's I can comment on in regards to that. So what we've been finding is that while we are fulfilling um these positions with with folks that are coming um to to our district, they don't necessarily have the background experience necessary to really serve our most neediest students. So that's where ed services also comes in with the support of directors in the different areas from early learning to teaching and learning and also obviously special education to be able to provide these supports. However, like I said, I think there was a lot of assumptions that that folks
112were coming to us ready and later on we were finding out that that we had gaps and we needed to fill those gaps and so that created kind of the situation of like yes, we got to ensure that we're filling our vacancies but also ensuring that we have the right people in the right positions to be able to to serve our students. So then, so I I read theou and it it sounds good, but it's disturbing that they don't have that experience and I guess they're not sharing that with us. So why in the world would we want to revise that agreement or is there anyone else that can do that? I'm with Mr. Okmpo. I mean what when and I've said it before when Dr. Sandeas was here, she's very connected. She was our
113superintendent to the Mexican secretary of or back then of education. I mean, and these people, they speak our language. I don't know how. I don't know. It just I mean, we're renewing this, but we know that these teachers don't have experience. It doesn't make sense to me. >> I can speak to that. Yes. So even um even IBridge, they're also having issues and just concerns with getting a pipeline of teachers from outside of the United States because of the updated immigration um enforcements, right? So they're they up the cost on H-1B visas. It's up to like $100,000 now. So they're struggling regardless of what country they're coming from. It's it's becoming an issue. This right here is a revised agreement, right? is updating just the fees that's already in I mean it's revising the fees
114due to the the changing fees for USCIS the agreement's already in place it's they're accredited with up to 2027 right so after 2027 then we can reconsider and say hey you know is this working out for us or not but this is um their accreditation is to 2027 and I will say it is risky it is risky hiring teachers that you're not familiar with interviewing I think that's the process of what we're we're noticing in in HR as well is how better do we screen? And we've actually improved on how we screen and not just interviewing everybody that's get sent our way, but really understanding what is the need of our district. We don't want to interview these people. We we say that we we tell folks that we work with like no yes pile
115kind of thing. And that didn't happen as efficiently before as well. >> Well, maybe if they had more experience then >> but I mean Okay. So, it's not the we're not recruiting more teachers. Is there's eight? About eight, I think you said, or 10 the district. >> Yeah, there's Yeah, a little bit more than 10. Um, >> are they all rehires? >> So, those folks are all um Yeah, they're all coming back next year. Yes. >> Oh, okay. >> Yeah, we would have we would have gone through a non-reelecting process, >> right? Okay. They we would go through the process that any other teacher Yeah. Yes. I think we really have to keep an eye out there for this because you know the ones that suffer are going to be our kids you know so
116maybe once they get more experience in the Philippines then and if we're short on teachers then we could have or the future board or whoever's here can have that discussion >> as it was stated it was it's a shortage everywhere right >> how long have we had them do we know was it before you >> want to say the last three years the agreement I remember see 2024 to 2027 Seven was a three year. So before my time on that one, but this is something we can definitely evaluate when this >> All right. Okay. Thank you. Well, then going back to that was it for me. I have a the motion I believe. Yes. Uhhuh. Second by Miss Pettis. So I'll call for for the vote, please. All those in favor, please say I. >>
117I. >> Any opposed? No. So vote. Motion carries five to zero. Okay, continuing on to human resource. We have um action items here. The first one, a resolution number 2526-20 classified employee appreciation week. May I get a motion, please? >> Motion, Miss >> Garcia. Second. Second by Miss Perez. We're going to ask um Mr. DS to read the resolution and then we'll ask for comments from board members. >> All right. All right. Resolution of classified employees appreciation week. Whereas education of youth is essential to the future of our community, state, country, and world. And whereas classified employees are the backbone of our public education system. And whereas classified employees work directly with students, educators, parents, volunteers, business partners, community members. And whereas classified employees support the smooth operation of offices, the safety and maintenance of
118buildings and property, and the safe transportation of healthy nutrition and direct instruction of students. And whereas our community depends upon the trust classified employees to serve the students serve students and whereas classified employees with their diverse talents and true dedication nurture students throughout the school years. Now therefore, be it resolved that the Alice Alisal Union School District Board of Trustees proclaim May 18th to the 22nd, 2026 to be classified employee appreciation week. And be it further resolved I didn't see that part that the Addisal Union School District Board of Trustees strongly encourages all members of our community to join in this observance recognizing the dedication and hard work of these individuals. >> Thank you so much, Mr. Diaz. Anybody have a comment? Ready for the vote? Oh, Mr. Oko, please. >> Yeah. Well, the only
119comment I'd like to make is that, you know, this this board does appreciate it classified uh employees. I mean, they're an integral part of of um of the school. And I think that we are all, you know, a familia uh teachers, classified employees, students, parents, all of us. We we are a familia as they say alis fore. So anyway, I think it's a great resolution. >> Thank you. Anybody else? No. Okay. I go ahead and call for the vote. All those in favor, please say I. I >> I are there any opposed? >> No opposed. Motion carries on a vote of five to zero. Yeah, press. We have the classified president in our audience there, Miss Ko. Action action item resolution number 2526-9, teacher appreciation week. And we have a resolution. We're going to ask
120that Mr. Diaz also read that one for us, please. It's the BS hour. Sorry. >> There we go. All right. Resolution of teacher appreciation week. Whereas teachers mold future citizens through guidance and education. And whereas teachers encounter students of widely differing backgrounds. And whereas our country's future depends upon providing quality education to all students. And whereas teachers spend countless hours preparing lessons, evaluating progress, counseling and coaching students, and performing community service. And whereas our community recognizes and supports its teachers in educating the children of this community. Now therefore, be it resolved that the Alisal Union School District Board of Trustees proclaim May 4th through the 8th of 2026 to be teacher appreciation week. And be it further resolved that the Alisal Union Board of Trustees strongly encourages all members of our community to join with
121it in personally expressing appreciation to our teachers for their dedication and devotion to their work. >> Thank you. So, I kind of went backwards there for a minute, but can I get a motion? Motion from Miss Bettis to vote for >> second. >> Miss Garcia, any comment from any of the board members? >> When is the uh the week of teacher appreciation week? >> Was that the resolution? I didn't hear >> May 4th to the 8th. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Anybody? All righty. So, board members, I'll call for the vote. All those in favor, please say I. >> I. Any opposed? Motion carries and a vote of five to zero. Thank you. Item C, action item, memorandum of understanding between Ellis Union School District and the California School Employees Association for change in hours.
122Motion, please. >> So move, >> Mr. Okmpo. >> Second from Perez. Comments, questions, concerns. Board members? >> No. >> Okay. All those in favor, please say I. >> I. I. >> I. Any opposed? >> None. Motion carries and vote will be recorded as five to zero in favor of D. Action item, revised job description, director of leadership, development, and accountability to director of leadership uh and development. May I get a motion, please? >> Motion. Motion from Miss Trusty Perez. >> Second. Thank you, Mr. Okmpo. Any questions, concerns? No. All for the vote. All those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Are there any opposed? No. Motion carries. Five to zero. Item number E, action item, revise job description, director of educational equity to director of student access and programs. Motion, please. Motion Perez
123Perez. And is that a second? Thank >> Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Any comments, concerns, questions? Thank you. All those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Motion carries and vote will be recorded as 5 to zero in favor of administrative services. Action item, establishment of citizen advisory committee for considering the renaming of Cesar Chavez Elementary School. Make it a motion, please. Motion. Trusty Perez. Second. Second. >> Thank you, Mr. >> I like his sign language. Mr. Ok. Okay. So, comments, questions, or concerns on this agenda item. Mr. >> I have a comment. I try to be short, you know, to the point. Uh, yeah, it's sort of a controversial thing, I guess. I mean looking at Facebook it it appears like the community is kind of evenly divided on on this thing uh
124that you know I I'm supporting uh well because you know as you probably have all read it was a New York Times article that that brought this you know to to the forefront. They there apparently were two minors that were accusing you know Mr. Chavis of um you know inappropriate inappropriate behavior and obviously we all know that uh Lolor Warta also said that you know that she was also I think it's sexually abused. I'm not sure what what what the word is that that but the uh the thing that that I sort of found interesting was that uh the reporter uh collaborated a lot of these things uh over a year period. It took the reporter a year to actually put the article together. And the collaboration involved uh interviewing close to about 60 60
125people. You know, there there were Travis family members, there were UFW workers, uh there were aids and they all collaborated that uh that uh that this actually took place. There was also about 12 women women that came forth and and that indicated that they had been sexually molested also. So there seems to be a a pattern collaborated by over 60 people. Uh and it just seems like a whole whole lot of people. I mean how do you just sort of turn you back to that? I mean it's it's a tough decision. And I I don't do it happily cuz you know Chavez has always been a hero hero to me and I you know because of what he did obviously you know bringing uh union to the farm workers and and improving their living conditions.
126So that cannot be taken ever can ever be taken away from him but there seems to be enough evidence to indicate that this behavior took place. Did it take place? So I don't know right but if if 60 people are saying yes it looks like it took place and all these women uh somewhere around uh 12 + 2 is 14 about 15 women are saying that that there was an incident that took place involving that. Uh it's just very hard especially when you work in an elementary school you know where where you're teaching elementary students. How do you explain to an elementary student, you know, what all this means? A high school student maybe would grasp it, right? And they'd say, "Okay, well, yeah, he he was a great man. He did great things, but
127he had a shortcoming." I mean, we're all human. We all have shortcomings, right? Uh but in elementary school, I just don't see how you can sort of justify that or how you even begin to explain that to an elementary school student. It's beyond me. So, so you know, I I'm in support of the motion. I this part of me does it reluctantly but but I I think it's the right thing to do. I I believe >> thank you uh Mr. Compo and just to remind us this is uh to consider the renaming it's not going to be up to I mean ultimately to the board but there's a process and I'll wait till my comments before I'll let the other but thank you. It's the reconsidering it and then having the committee together. But we'll
128talk about the process in a moment. But thank you. Thank you for sharing. Mr. Okmpo, did you have a comment, Melasquez? >> Yeah, I believe if if the school is going to be changed, the name I think it should be up to the board to decide the name. Um I don't think we should have an advisory committee on that. I think if the board wants to do it, let the board do it. It's uh the honor that the board has in renaming that school. If you want to rename it, um I also have some of the same concerns that um you know, Mr. Okmpo has cuz u we I I just grew up watching them. I marched with them down, you know, 101, you know, for good part of the ways. Uh and Dolores never
129once seemed like she was every every bit concerned. Even when during the Me Too movement um she seemed to be praising him, you know, she praised them on, you know, stuff during that the height of the Me Too movement was, you know, everybody was accusing people of stuff and she never came out and to me I just, you know, I I never read the article that it was 60 people. I always thought it was three people. Now I'm hearing 60. I didn't know that. Um but um it seemed like the only one anybody ever cared hearing was the Lord's name. That's the only one you ever hear about that because she said it now. Let's believe it. Um, I just I think there's something more to it. Um, but if the name is going to
130be changed, I believe it should be left to the board to decide um if they want to change the name. >> Thank you, Mr. Velasquez. Miss Garcia really have any comments? I I think um this is probably the a step in the right direction as far as getting a committee going just to see if really if if there's a real need to change it. I don't know. But yeah, I don't really have any further comments. Thank you, Miss Pettis. Mr. Pettis, I I agree with um it's a very controversial situation. Um but we're not the the judge and jury here, and I'm not saying that anybody is saying we are, but our job is to I believe is to hear from the community. I I don't want that responsibility because I see the the victims
131and I go for them. I see people that defend uh Cesar Chavez because of this great work and then I go for that. So I don't think I'm qualified uh to make that decision because it's a very confusing one for me. I do remember that we had a presentation I think from Mrs. Rodriguez at Dr. Oscar Loya school and when he came my comments were we need to to hear who Dr. Oscar Loya was because look at Jesse Sanchez the principal and the vice principal came here and they spoke about the schools you know who is named after Mr. Jesse Sanchez. The kids know who he is. The teachers know who he is. And then I made the comment at that meeting, you know, everybody knows who Ces Chavez is. And and the kids at
132the school know who he is. And and these allegations and that's what they are at this point. Our allegations have been made, but we don't decide that. I think the community has to, my thought is the community has to decide it. It's a process, but all we're here is not to because we're board members. Our view about whether he did or didn't or who his victims were or weren't, that's not our we we need to stay in our lane. And our lane is and what the what's on the agenda is the establishing of a committee. Now, this committee, um, from what I've read, it will have at least two people, if the board decides to go that way, that each board member can, um, can choose from the community. It will have parents, I don't
133know, maybe some students, it does mention students, maybe it'll be some of the older students. So, it's going to be something that as a community, we all decide. We all have a voice. We need to to find out what the community feels. Now, I think that Mr. Velasquez is right. I mean, if they come up with something that is totally against board policy or something, then we we do have to get involved in that. But I don't think that we're quite there yet. This is for uh the committee. Now, the only thing that I did not um kind of agree with is at the end of the the background information, it did say that the superintendent or her designate will appoint members after they resume the applications. Well, although I might disagree on some of
134Mr. Velasquez's comments, I don't disagree that it is mainly our it is the board that has to decide at the end. It is the board. So I'm I'm not in agreement that with that. Sorry. It's the one. Yeah. I don't know how the other board feel. Do you feel that it should be the superintendent and her designate that picks who's going to they're going to review the applications and then who's going to be part of the committee? I think it's my responsibility if that's the route that we go. Can I add that I I don't mind the establishing the committee to if they to consider them agreeing that maybe we need to rename it but I think the renaming should be the process of the board. Not a >> but not I'm not against >>
135and and I think what the committee will do maybe bring forward a couple of names >> recommendation >> uh recommendation but he's right the board doesn't have to do that >> but then we don't want to I mean on the same uh thought line there we don't want to tell the community well we're still going to decide and because they're going to spend time discussing it and I think it's going to be people who have different viewpoints So discussions are going to are going to take place but I do agree it should be the board Mr. Okmpo. >> Yeah. I'm I'm trying to figure out I'm understanding what you're saying. Are you saying that that every board member should have the the last say in who those two like I can pick two people and
136then those people will definitely pick. >> That's what the board policy says. >> Is that what you're advocating for or >> Yes. That Uhhuh. I'm Yeah, that's what the board policy says. and and nobody changed the board policy. Just the background information that we were given does say that it's the superintendent or who after they review and maybe her cabinet or whoever and you know all like like all you guys great work um but they review the applications and then decide who's on that committee and although I think we can take recommendations or maybe they know someone ultimately we it is our responsibility as five So um and it does say that we can have two >> each you know and um hopefully we can get people involved teachers. So did you want to comment
137on the process Mrs. >> I think the last time that we we didn't rename we when Buckorn was open Mr. Bossi was a co-f facilitator of that process and so I I believe it was honored that the board gave the recommendations and it was the people on the on the panel or the advisory committee. >> The difference now and I'll let Mr. boss speak in a minute, but the difference now is that we also have because it's an existing facility in this existing building that we have staff um we have students and parents, right? So, that's the difference when we were renaming or naming Buckorn, we it was a facility that didn't even have staff yet. So, it's there's a little difference I think here with our school and I was principal there for five
138years. um established in 1996 with the same name. So how do you now get their opinion and their um and their commitment to the community? So Mr. So yeah, just to elaborate on the process, each board member gave us two names during that process and we had the option of having two to three meetings to come up with the name and the guidelines came from the superintendent and board of education and the guidelines are already narrated in the board policy and the admin uh regulations which is AR1220. So we had guidelines coming from there and the guidelines are simple a name of the person who is living or deceased or a geographic location. So those are the general guidelines. So we had to go with that. But in that process we had only one meeting.
139In that one meeting actually we were able to wrap up the process. community uh committee members they made recommendations and then we had to go go through the process of electing one name. We came up with one recommendation final recommendation and again going back to board policy board of education has authority and discretion to take or not to take that recommendation stay with the current name or take the new name. So it all has in board's authority right >> and at that point if I recall the board as they have the authority to do so selected another name or they kept the name that we were calling it through all the business paperwork. >> Yes. >> I believe there's a board policy that we implemented that no board could adopt a name of a living
140person until that person had been dead for at least five years. Um that came under the direction of Dr. if I remember correctly. Um because I think at the time he had said something about a bridge being named after someone that turned out to be um a predator of some sort. I don't know if it was commiss or what what it was. I don't want to put false words out, but I know that it was that we made a decision not to and I believe it's a board policy not to name uh any building after an living individual unless they've been dead for at least 5 years. And um I want to remind you that these are just allegations against and uh we have a building right next door right here, Martin Luther King, that
141there's also allegations made against him. I remember reading those when that building was named um getting a lot of uh people that were against that name being named like that cuz he also had allegations made against him. Um yet we still chose to name it Martin Luther King. Um, so I'm just saying, um, it's a difficult situation to be put in, but I I don't mind having the committee be formed to, you know, if they really want to change the name, hey, you know, let's go with what they want. But I still think the name change should be left up to the board. I I have the board policy present here and I've read it and there I think it should say it does say individual individuals live living or deceased and entities that have
142made outstanding contributions including financial contributions to the school com uh community. So it talks about living or deceased but it doesn't say five years. It doesn't say one year. >> So there's no limit on the current policy. Maybe it was changed. It was it did say that before. >> Um >> yeah, this one's from 2015. This is the most current. So this is the most >> been changed before >> and you know, right? And I we may think of as a board I mean when have we really created a policy and that's our main job here is to create policy. We might want to think about creating a policy that we just don't do names period because things happen. You know, we had >> I like that idea. >> Yeah. just no, not after a
143person. I mean, not too long ago, we had a young man that was going to try to change the Fremont and then Bardon because these things come up, valid reasons, and we're probably not all going to be on the same side all the time, but if you have that, so maybe we need to have that discussion and and have Mrs. Anzo help us with that and and we can do that. So that nobody goes through this in the future. So, so this committee could say change the name or they could say leave it what it is or they could do. We don't know. >> Yeah, I think we have to hear from >> We have to hear from you. Okay. >> So, your action tonight would be to establish the oversight citizen advisory committee for
144possible consideration. That's that's all the action is. And I think I want to be I want to just state something for the record because earlier it was stated that we knew what how much money or what the expense was on renaming the school and that's not true. We haven't uh brought this to your attention or to your for your recommendation um or our recommendation for your vote. So we haven't established any cost yet. Uh that was some the news report KSBW I believe reported but it was for a a neighboring district in um in the Santa Cruz County for Pajaro Valley. >> Right. So I think that uh an important thing in the in the in the motion is that it's considering the renaming. We're not saying it's going to happen or it's not going
145to happen. We're just interested in making it a fair process by following uh the law in this matter by following our board policy and at the end of the day the five of us taking the uh the responsibility that it is to to make that final decision. that we want to make that clear to anybody who is going to want to be part of that committee and um that it's considering you know I I think it's hasty I'll be honest with you but it's going to have to be done sooner or later so it's a it's a long process a lot of people are involved I don't even think there's a limit as to to how many can be on the committee you know the the background information I think said or was it the
146policy maybe one parent from each school. I don't know. We have 12 schools. So, you don't make it too big. And we want to have someone in charge or whoever the person that is going to be in charge that can handle all of that because it is a controvent controversial, very sentimental um decision that lies before us. But I I trust that the board will make the right decision. Any more comments? So, I'm going to call for the vote pretty soon. Any any more comments? No. Okay. So I do have a motion from Trusty Perez, a second from Trusty Okmpo. All those in favor, please say I. >> I. Any opposed? None. Motion carries. Action item B. National Association of Latino Elected Officials 43rd Annual Conference July 14th through 16, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
147Attendees, Board of Trustees. Can I get a motion, please? >> Uh, so move. >> Mr. Okampo. Second. Second. Mes, are there any questions, comments? What's the cost? And where is it at, Mrs. Gonzo? Isn't it Los Angeles? >> It's in Los Angeles. And right now, I think the cost on the board item itself is about $16,000. And that's just Oh, you Oh, they have >> it's about it's 13,864.50 and that's estimated if all board members were to go >> and we always estimate high in case we need to get um hotel rooms or there's other costs and we don't know if board members are flying, driving. So, we make sure that that's all estimated into the cost. And and I know you know how I voted last time because we we have our tiebreaker here,
148but I I did want to say also that I know that our board members that have gone to NALO before do come back with a report of the conferences that they went to and some of the things that they shared. So I want to say something positive about that. Although I don't support because it's not just it's not a school school. Anyway, I already I don't want to repeat myself. I'm going to go ahead unless anybody has the comment. >> Yeah, I just think that um if in the future there's going to be no trips to go. I don't believe we should allow um we should make it a board policy that they not be beyond any of the states that touch California. Some of these happen in Florida. They happen in New York. They
149happen all over the place. I just believe that's too high of a cost to for a perk that really the school benefits nothing from, you know, or very very little from at all. I mean, you get to meet with people, but but they benefit the board member, not necessarily the school. And I think uh to have um these little perks that really don't benefit the school, I don't think we really should uh consider them here in LA. I really I'm not going to oppose it. Um but outside of um any state that touches California, I think we should have a policy that we we don't go. >> Thank you. Any other comments, Mr. Okmpo? >> Yeah, try to keep this short. Um yeah I don't you know I've I've been to many many uh NLEO
150conferences and uh and I can recall attending many workshops on on education and uh NLEO does provide you know workshops on education but but above that also I think that u you know just just speaking generally uh I think that NLEO and our district has a lot of the same goals and that's because you So we look at our district, we're like about 95% Latino, you know, in our district and the major the major mission of NLEO is to improve, you know, the educational, social, economic, political uh status of of Latinos. And the major goal of this district is quite frankly to to do the same. So in my mind, at least the way I look at it, I I think that there's a match there. there's there there's a relationship there and uh I
151think that NLEO could really be a major resource to our district but that that depends on the degree of creativity and how assertive our our our cabinet or our is but I think there is a possibility there of of Neleo being a great research being a great resource I'm sorry uh and and a lot of workshops even though they may not be titled uh education are still very relevant to to the things that that we're doing here. For example, I recall years ago attending a workshop on social social emotional uh needs of students and board members and just people in general. And that's important to our district. I mean, we've hired a every single one of our schools has a counselor who talks about, you know, the social emotional and tries to meet the social
152emotional needs of of our students. uh you know I recall years ago NLEO had a workshop uh on affordable housing and my wife attended with me. Now, my wife brought back a lot of information from NLE to her district about affordable housing for teachers. And as a consequence of that, now Selena's Union High School District is providing affordable housing to his teachers. You know, in in a in an attempt to to get them to stay that that that they don't leave. uh you know I recall years ago also I took a a workshop in NLEO on how to to uh uh eval evaluate your superintendent and that's one of our major uh responsibility >> sorry that was useful I also recall uh taking a a workshop on the state of of med medical and uh
153and uh health insurance uh in California. Um, and as we all know, with the cut of the federal subsidies, uh, there's a possibility of about a million people in California losing their medical, uh, insurance. And that's of concern to us, you know, because we're concerned about the medical condition of our parents. And we provide service services to them, whether it's through the the medical uh, clinic and and such. And also you know our teachers every year their premiums go up uh which in essence becomes a deduction in their salary. So the whole issue of of of medical insurance and premiums I think is of concern to to our district. So, so you know, my point is that even though a workshop may not be entitled um um education, it doesn't mean that it doesn't relate
154to some of the some of the work that that we're doing here. Uh the last last thing that I just want to say is that one of the big pushes for the NEO conference this year is to look at the whole uh deportation crisis that's taking place in California and that's going to be a real emphasis uh in their conference. And from what I from what I understand understand it's going to be more than just a passive conference that they're actually going to come up with some hands-on I think the word is work convening strategies that people will be able to take back to their districts and then work with their parents on how to deal with this whole deportation crisis. And and having said that, I would really like if I if it passes,
155I would really like to to I think it would be great if our superintendent were to attend and maybe some of our staff that work with parents would attend so they could bring back some of these strategies because we are in a deportation crisis. people, you know, I think over almost half a million people have been deported uh in the US in 20 2025 and many of our people live in fear because of of uh of ICE and we know that ICE uh has been really abusing uh Latinos. I mean, we see it on TV every single day. So, so you know I you know I you know I we we all have different opinions and I respect the opinions of of my colleagues. I'm not saying anything negative about their opinions but but I
156just wanted to express my opinion. That's my viewpoint on this whole thing. I think it's important. So so obviously I'll be going forward. >> Thank you Mr. Okao. I respect your opinion. >> Do anybody else? No matter. Thank you. So, I'm going to go ahead and call for the vote. Okay. Um, all those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Raise your hand. >> Okay. Three. Are there any nazs or nos? >> Myself? No. Three to two. Motion passes. 3 to two. And we wish you all well at the conference because now that I voted no, I can't go. >> I'm just kidding. Okay. See, we're going to go on to item number C, administrative services. This is an information first read, revise board policy 0410, non-discrimination in district programs and activities. D information
157first read adopt a new board policy and administrative regulation 1445 response to immigration enforcement and e information first read on revised board policies and administrative regulations series 1000 community relations superintendent department included. Okay, so on to future agenda items. Do any board of members at this time have anything they'd like to add? I'd like to um add for a future hopefully maybe at the May meeting presentation on the speech language pathologist so we can be a little bit more or myself all of us be familiar with that. And of course we know it's not the only opportunity we have to add things to the agenda. We could always call Mrs. Ano. So, um, future agenda items, we'll have a presentation from Monttera, also from John Steinbeck Elementary School, and then here are our future meeting
158dates, May 13, 3rd, and 24th. So, we'll move on to item number 10, public comments. Individuals wishing to address the board of trustees on close session agenda items may do so at this time. Starting time is 7:52. Do we have any? No. Okay. Closing ending time is also 7:52. So, we're going to take a 10-minut break and then we'll reconvene um in close session. We will start close session in 10 minutes after 802. Thank you. 802. Thank you and thank you for being with us. Okay, we will reconvene into open session at 9:46 p.m. And we do have reportable action. The action, the following action was taken uh place in close session on a vote of five to zero. The board took action on item C to appoint Mary Macausski Mahowskiowski as assistant principal for
159Montevea Elementary for the 202526 school year effective immediately on a vote of 5 to zero. The board took action on item D to accelerate promotion of two students for the 2526 school year. This change is effective immediately. Thank you. Uh we'll now adjourn at 9:47. Good night. Thank you.