001I just looked at it yesterday. also at the service. No, it's the county building. Oh, it's also sponsored in part by county. That's the big one. That's the one. Recording in progress. [Music] I saw it. I saw it. [Music] That's right. Just leave it here. The Good evening everybody. It's 5:30 today. Uh we have our regular board meeting um for April 24, 2025. Miss Patricia, could you please do roll call, please? Regular meeting, April 23rd, excuse me, April 24th, 2025, 5:30. Excuse us, there's an echo. Roll call. President Linda Chavez, present. Vice President Andres Kintterero, present. Board Clerk Menfam, present. Board member Korina Era Loera, present. Board member Minwen, present. Superintendent Emana, uh, present. Okay, we have quum and this meeting is being recorded. Can you all stand for the pledge of allegiance? To the
002flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Mr. Could you please? Thank you. Good afternoon, Madame President, members of the board, superintendent, members of the public. Just a quick announcement. We have um interpretation devices for Spanish speakers, and the devices are out there in the hallway. Um, Madam President, you want me to read item 1.3? Yes, please. 3.2. 3.2. Uh, correct me if I'm wrong. 1.2 first. 1.2, please. 1.2. Yes. Um, go ahead. Oh, Madam President, if I could uh I'd like to make a motion to move the following items to uh items 3.1, 5.2, and 5.1 to go after item 1.3. Can you give me that one more time? Items 3.1, copy tournament recognition, 5.2, Black
003April resolution, and 5.1 the Sinclair uh Matzah site. those three items to go in that order after item 1.3. Okay. All in favor raise your hands. Okay. So pass this. Uh we will take 3.1 um and then 5.2 and then 5.3. Okay. Can I proceed mad person? Thank you. Exist. Max. Thank you very much, Mr. Okay, so um moving on to uh two public members who wish to we're going to take the recognition first. Yes. Okay. So, we're going to move on to 3.1 and Mr. sort of can you uh call? Call. I'm going to turn it over to our coordinator or RAPA coordinator, Emily Mcchristian, who will um talk about this um item. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening, members of the board. Um I'm here to recognize the winners for our Copita tournament
004that we had at the end of March. Um it was very exciting. We had 42 teams playing. Um tonight we're going to be recognizing the winners of the elementary co-ed bracket and the middle school girls team and the middle school boys team. We're going to start with um Casselle who won the co-ed elementary bracket. I'm going to invite their principal up to the mic to introduce their coach and the team. And this is Miss Alicia Kelly. Good evening, board, members of the board, and cabinet. Um, it's my great pleasure to be here today to introduce our coach, Josh Nordon, and all of these amazing kids who are the most beautiful people in the world and who put their hearts together and made it a perfect ending for us. So, congratulations to all of you. Come
005on up. We're gonna try all the students. I'm all up here in front and have all the adults in the back behind you. So, if you have your certific you over a little bit over this way. Come on. Sorry. All right. Everyone would like to come up to the front to get a photo of their students. Take one. [Applause] Yeah, definitely. Next, I'm going to ask Miss Sharon Brown, the principal of Okala Steam Academy, to come up and introduce her girls team winners. Good evening, board superintendent Sida and Executive Cabinet. Thank you for allowing us to be here tonight to honor our amazing athletes of Okala. I'd like to introduce our two amazing coaches that coached our wonderful girls to for Okala Steam. Can I have coach Lopez and coach Solis up here to introduce
006our girls? Hi, good evening. Um, I want to start by saying how refreshing it is to be up here for a positive reason and this is our positive reason. Um, girls stand up. So, there are very few girls here. It's actually a good problem to have the majority of our team, they're doing the track and field meet right now, so that's where everyone else is. Um, it it's pretty amazing to coach middle school soccer and to take girls that have never ever ever played on a team and girls that have been playing club soccer since they could walk and blend them together and just watch them grow. So, it's been it's been pretty amazing. Um, and we do really well during regular season, but there's just something about Copita that pulls at their heartstrings. Um,
007and there's always a lot of excitement. And it was it was it was amazing. They're amazing. Our school's amazing. And we just thank you for taking this time to recognize us. And Miss Solis would like to say a few words in Spanish. [Applause] Erica. our Roita Lea Sophia Graciello and then we'll photoshop everyone else in. All right. a little bit closer. We'll have the girls again. Everyone ready? One, two, three. One, two, three. two smile. One, two, three. Smile. [Applause] would also like to say thank you for starting to fix our field. [Applause] And lastly, we had the boys team from uh Renaissance at Matson. I'm not sure if any of them were able to make it tonight. Is any Okay, come on down. Hello everybody. My name is Noel Kol and I was uh
008the Renaissance at Matson boys soccer coach. We do have five of our fellas. fellas, Jaden, Aiden, Samuel, Alejandra, and Kevin, if you guys want to come up here, give a round of applause. Um, but I just wanted to take a moment to express how proud I am of uh not only these gentlemen, but of our entire team. Uh, our season was a bit of a roller coaster. We were the underdogs of the season, but I was happy that during Copita weekend, we were able to come out on top and end off Copita weekend with with a win. Um, but I just wanted to express how proud I am of these gentlemen and I can I hope that we continue to thrive moving forward. Um, yeah, that's it. Thank you guys. Let's give a round of
009applause to Kevin, to Jaden, to Samuel, to Aiden, and last but not least, Alejandro. photo and I'm asking [Music] Can the adults do one step forward? Everyone ready? One, two, three. Come up to the middle. [Applause] Okay, moving on to 5. Madam President, can I say a few words? Madam President, I mean 5.2 5.2. Sorry. Thank you. And then I'll take you. Go ahead. Oh, yes. Thank you. So, is it on this item? I want to speak on this item. So, since he brought it, let me have him speak on it and then you I think he wants to go on to the next item. He's going to do 5.2 and I want to speak on Copita. Oh. Oh. Oh, okay. Yeah. Sorry about that. Thank you so much. Um I just want to thank
010all the students who gave their heart out. Um everyone involved, right? And then also today recognize the champions, the best of the best here at Alam Rock. Um, and I also want to thank uh, Telmundo NBC uh, for helping sponsor right and uh, our continued partnership um, call out Erica Das who has really taken a lead to ensure that Alamrock um, has copita every year along with, you know, our resources and our staff who put in a lot of hours. I was able to go out there on Saturday morning. I wasn't there to hand out the trophies this year, but I know that you all had a lot of fun. Um, I was able to see you all play and um, thank all the staff that also gave valuable hours during your weekends to make
011sure that our students had what they need to make sure that uh, they were out there playing on the fields. So, thank you to everybody that was involved say a few words as well. And I I too would want to say that and I will say I was there to, you know, I did uh, trophy duty the for the whole event, right? So, it's a workout, right? I mean, Lord knows how many medals I uh handed out and you know what the you know everything from third place, second place in the Copita itself and uh what a wonderful event. I am always thankful for our partnership with uh NBC Bay Area and Kelamundo and also with the East Side Union High School District and uh the James Lake High School staff for being such great
012hosts. you you know uh uh sometimes it takes a little nudge from sister districts but you know for the first time we you we we used the electronic scoreboard we got at you know use the broadcast booth and so we were able to uh have a improved copita this year and also uh as always all our kids are winners no you know even though we are cong we're congratulating the winner winners of Copita. Every every student who participates is a winner, right? It takes a lot of uh courage and dedication to go out there and uh do your best out there in the fields. And I know that every child uh played their heart out there. Um, so you know, uh, uh, I guess if I had to sum it up in one moment, uh,
013Renaissance at Matson for the boys championship and it was won in overtime on penalty kicks. So, you know, we you know, when when when our kids play, they they play all what is it 90 minutes of soccer and, you know, all the way into overtime. So, thank you so much Just wanted to add my thanks to everybody who made this happen. Thank you to the students who participated. Everybody uh you guys are the winners. But obviously it wouldn't have been a game had other people not gotten involved. And so congratulations to you and congratulations to those folks who participated who who uh had fun who enjoyed themselves because that's what it's all about. Uh thank you to the staff, uh to the volunteers, to everybody who who made this happen. Gracias. [Music] Um by the
014looks of the all the photos and stuff, it looks like everybody had fun and I hope you guys continue to um to enjoy everything that Alam Rock offers you and take advantage of it. Um, and so I heard that you guys were all rocking and rolling there at the soccer fields, but uh, unfortunately I couldn't make it because I was rocking on the water. So next time I will be there. Uh, and congratulations to the winners and uh, and you guys' competition is pretty fierce and let's enjoy next year again. Thanks. [Applause] after item 5.2 so we're going to be moving on to 5.2 and that is the um Mr. Min he requested this so I'm going to have him speak on it. Yes. Thank you madam president. So you know it uh I'm you
015know annual tradition of mine to uh you know bring bring the bring a memorial resolution in regards to Black April. uh you know this year uh I'll let the let the kids file out first, right? That's always the the [Music] Oh, come up front in front. Yes. Yes. Yes. The there's more space now. But anyway, uh I want Anyway, so you know, it's always been a a tradition of mine to bring forward a Black April memorial resolution. Uh you know, since we've been able to return in person to, you know, uh board meetings in 2022. Uh and this uh resolution uh marks the 50th anniversary of Black April, the fall of Saigon. I just wanted to uh say that uh it marks an important moment in time. Uh you know a historical event that uh
016uh what is it in in many ways changed the shape of this community uh uh the end of the Vietnam War um brought uh many many refugees uh of which I am a child of uh one. uh to this country uh after uh an unsuccessful fight for freedom. And I I want to use uh Ronald Reagan's quote about, you know, the Vietnam War being a noble cause. It was a war fought, you know, in an attempt to preserve uh liberty and democracy in South Vietnam. Uh so it is in the spirit of of that that you know first of all I want to uh you know honor the sacrifices of those who fought on the side of uh the Republic of Vietnam, South Vietnam uh you know Americans who also made the ultimate sacrifice you
017know and you know and also of course among those Americans Alam Rockers who who who uh stepped up and served and you know if I may say uh Mr. Frank Chavez who former trustee and husband to board president Chavez was one such uh US veteran of the Vietnam war. And so you know it is in that spirit that I bring this forward uh you know to first to reinforce uh that that the fight for liberty and democracy is something that must you know that needs to be continually uh fought for right uh what is it eternal vigilance is the price of liberty uh and that you know our children shouldn't learn you know uh it's uh an opportunity for our children to learn that uh you know fre you know freedom comes with responsibility uh
018freedom is not given willingly and that those are things that we must continually uh fight for and so it's it's um the other part is I also want to pay tribute to uh the the great many contributions Vietnamese American community has made in our region in in San Jose, east side San Jose and in Alam Rock. Uh you know, we would not have uh our Vietnamese immersion program if we're not, you know, if if not for this uh for the historical moment. So it it's it is with that that I hope that my colleagues would, you know, take the opportunity in joining me to uh pay tribute to, you know, the Vietnamese community for their contributions to, you know, the fabric of Alen Rock in East Side St. Jose. uh the veterans of South Vietnam
019who uh you know gave it their all in in in the struggle for freedom and democracy. you know, you know, US, you know, US veterans who stepped up and, you know, for many who paid the ultimate price. Uh, you know, to take this moment to honor their memory and to again, uh, reiter, you know, teach our children that, uh, you know, democracy and liberty are things that, uh, that continually need to be fought for. you know and that it's you know maintaining our uh our freedoms is something that is a continual process. So I I hope my colleagues will take this opportunity and uh support this resolution. So I do I have a motion motion to approve second. Do I have a motion in a second? Is there any public comment on 5.2? Seeing no
020public comment on 5.2 to any trustee comment. Uh, go ahead, Vice President. I'd like to thank my colleague for bringing forward this resolution to remind us of the sacrifices that were made by uh folks who are fighting for um uh fighting for democracy in their homeland. And uh very much appreciate you uh bringing this forward. I would also be remiss if uh we didn't recognize the the fact that uh the troops that were there supporting uh were comprised of a diverse group of people that included chos right here from Susan uh who went out there some of whom died uh to support uh the cause of freedom in Southeast Asia. And so just wanted to kind of bring it bring it back home and recognize the the the efforts of the community and also also
021incorporate that uh the team effort uh of which you know one out of five body bags that was coming back from Vietnam happen to be uh chos Mexican-Americans. We at that time did not comprise 20% of the population. Uh and so that's just something that should be said and noted. Thank you board president. Thank you uh trusty fam for bringing this uh forward. Um definitely um something to acknowledge right uh when we don't talk about history then it can easily get erased. So we get to continue to uh bring light to the truths that have happened. So thank you for doing that. Um and I won't um repeat some of the things that have have been mentioned. Um, I would just like to mention two of my uncles, Jesse Barakas and Ernesto Era, whose family
022continue to also, um, uh, feel the effects of fighting, um, you know, in that war. Um, and many more, many more in our community. And so, um, thank you for bringing that. And I think for me, you know, especially during these times, there's a quote that I am, um, that really brings up to light, right? Um, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere as mentioned by Martin Luther King. And so just remembering that, right, just because maybe my people are, you know, wherever they're at, um, anybody that is uh suffering any injustice, we all get to work together to speak up and ensure that um, we're all living um, in a in a free free uh, world um, where we get to be ourselves. So, thank you again and I will be supporting this
023resolution. Sure. Um, echoing uh some of the other board members, um, thank you to Trusty Fam for, uh, bringing this forward. Um, you guys have mentioned all the the groups that, uh, contributed to the effort. Um, yeah, it's crazy to think that, uh, uh, my dad was a veteran and I certainly wouldn't be here uh, if he wasn't. Um, along with, as Trusty Fam mentioned, the population throughout San Jose and even all of California. Um, so yeah, I appreciate you bringing this up. I think it's important for us to um, remember it. Thank you. Um, thank you, man, for bringing this. Um, and I guess throughout this year and a half, I've seen the effects of all the chemicals that were sprayed with Agent Orange and all of the veterans that are still suffering decades
024after um, as on both sides uh, with the Vietnamese population, with the American population and their families because they also passed it down to their children. Um, so I want to thank all those who served and thank those that are serving now. Uh, because ultimately freedom isn't free and so it comes with the cost of lives. Thank you very much. So, uh, all in favor of passing the resolution, please raise your hand. So, the motion passes 5-0. It passes unanimously. So the next one we will be taking is 5.2 5.1 excuse me wrong number 5.1. Um so this is for the uh board discussion on the 600 Sinclair Drive formerly known as MAXA. The committee received one statement of interest from School of Arts and Cultures for repurposing and refurbish of the facility. The superintendent
025was directed by the board of trustees to facilitate a conversation with the SOS May Fair and the school of arts and cultures to address the following questions and report back to the board at the April 24th, 2025 meeting. And there was four points and one of them number one will be the li how will the liability be addressed by the coalition? Number two, how will security at the site be addressed? Number three, how will maintenance and upkeep be addressed? and number four ask administration to underscore that this is a partnership not a simply handing over a site. So those were the questions that were asked. Would you like to answer? Uh first we will take public comment and then we will ask the question that we directed uh the superintendent of that to do. So
026is there any public comment on 5.1? You can go ahead. So, seeing that there's one, two, three, five, six. Seeing that there's many of you, we are going to allow one minute each, can you put the timer so that everybody will have an opportunity to speak? Um, go ahead. Hi, my name is Urttzi from Hovveness Activos. I am here to support Somos and the CISA collective to rebuild Maxa. I would like to reopen Maxa because there is violence going on in our community and this could also help youth come together to do after school programs and sports. We should bring back programs that help youth because the district has shut down schools and needed programs. collaborate with us to have the same resources that as they as other youth in San Jose have. Thank you.
027[Applause] Okay. Hello, my name is Stephanie Arnandez and I am 14 years old. I'm a member of SOS Mayer Hoves Activos. My vision for when we open Masca is to have all youth feel welcome. I want a place where I can feel get away from all the stress that I am feeling from all the bad things that are in our community. And I want a place where I can make friends through sports or any hobbies that we share. And I know that I may have a lot of dreams, but this is a dream that I know that I will be able to accomplish with your help. So, I'm here to ask the board to work with us in all the hard times and dream with us of Moscow. And I know we need time so
028that we will be able to meet again and continue this conversation. So, please work with us and understand us. Thank you. Hi, my name is Selia Placencia and I'm 15 years old. While Maxa is for all the Eastside families, that building's main focus would be for youth like me. Why does that matter? Teenagers and pre-teens have a bad reputation for being some of the meanest people. I admit some of the reason why is because of different parenting skills, but it's also because of a lack of resources and they act out as a way to express and protect themselves. Places like MXA show them that they are cared for and inspired the creativity. Please, please, please listen to my community and continue believing in the change that we can make happen. Thank you. My name is
029Fernando Ramirez. I'm a middle school student here in San Jose. For almost 10 years, MAXA has been closed. It used to be a place where people could go do sports and extracurricular activities, but now sadly, it's closed. If you accept if you accept SOS Mayfair and give them two more months, think of what the students in the area could be doing like basketball and soccer instead of doing nothing at home. Thank you. Um, hello. My name is Cynthia Fernandez Castro. I'm 16 years old. I'm a member of the Hispanic community. And my vision for when Masca opens is that communities get unified and it creates a second home and take it as someone who has to switch to another school that I used to call my second home that I have to find another place
030where I don't feel stressed out and I'm not alone and I have to like just feel like I belong. So you your kids, nieces, grandchildren can escape toxic environments with Masca's help making them feel like they belong and they're not alone. So, I'm here to ask the board meeting to accept the proposal and for more time so we can all dream. Thank you for your time. [Applause] Good evening, board of trustees, uh, superintendent. My name is Peter Ortiz. I have the honor of representing East Side San Jose on the San Jose City Council. First, I just want to thank uh, this board for the work you do day in and day out advocating and caring for uh, the youth of East San Jose. Uh, I also want to thank you and acknowledge the votes this
031board has also already taken, right, to allow the community the opportunity to plan and begin dreaming about what I feel is one of the best opportunities that have come to our east side for many years, which is the restoration of the Moxa building. Given the major investments that are already starting to come into the Mayfair community, whether that's through the CI P collective or the city through these uh youth and children master plan, uh I see this site, the Moxa site, as another uh channel for bringing in philanthropic dollars uh and government services to our most vulnerable residents. Uh I I hope that we can please count on your vote to allow the community to dream. Our children need something to dream during this time. Thank you so much. Hello, my name is Veronica Mador.
032I am a parent of children here in Alen Rock and I am here because I'm just like everyone else in support of Maxa in the Cis collective collaboration, but also to bring you a reflection. I am often in the parks with my children because that's all we can afford for free. Um, and it's been disheartening to see so many of our students being out there in the streets already gang involved. Um I've seen my kids friends already being gang involved and this is an area of hope right this is an area if we had something for them to do a place for them to feel like they belong like it was before for me maxa for me as a teen parent my child my child's come up here and said how impactful it was for
033them and this is again an area of dream of hope that we can we hope to continue this conversation outside we drew a wall for you of our hopes and dreams that we hope that you also have and share with us. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Disa Gonzalez and I am a proud parent of two students in in the Lombros School District. I am here tonight to ask you to continue listening to our community and to advocate for extending this important process so we can truly send our community voices in in shaping what Maxa can become. As I've shared before, Massac is not just a building. For many of us is a beacon of hope, safety, and belonging. But building something meaningful, something rooted in honesty, community, and strong partnerships takes more than
034just a month. Dreaming about our kids and their safety and their future during this political climate takes more than a month. Please extend that time and support SOS Mayer and the School of Arts and Culture. Thank you. [Applause] Excellent. Flores. Good afternoon. Flores, reser, res of Mayfair neighborhood for more than 18 years. I have three teenagers. My children grew up in that neighborhood. In that place, in that neighborhood in I recall over 21 years when I migrated to this country. I used to take my nephews to the sports events at Moxa that were taking place. I was a teenager being there and I thought it was incredible. I love there were so many families, so many children. It's broken my heart to see that space dead. I would love for you to give us some
035more time so we can dream together. What would we really want to see and what's the need for the people in that community? Yeah. Thank you. [Applause] Good afternoon. I'm Jeremy Bruce, director of policy and organizing with Amigos the Guadalupe Center for Justice and Empowerment. We're also part of the CI P Collective. Just here to uh urge the board uh to prolong the discussions and extend the discussions by at least two more months so that we can have a fruitful conversation and give our partners SOS Mayfair and the school of arts and culture some opportunities to uh really vision and plan for the future of the Moxa site. The board took a really great step last month and you know entering into partnership with Somos and SOAK and uh you know we asked the board
036to just be able to uh extend conversations so that we can provide some really great community services, bring some quality service into uh the Moxa site and really reimagine and repurpose it for youth programs, for social programs, for uh medical programs um so that we have a healthy and thriving Mayfair. Thank you. Oh, okay. My name is Gualupe. I dream of a max for all the families. Although I don't live in the Moxa community neighborhood, I do dream of a Moxa for the neighborhood together for the women to see can discover their abilities have different career opportunities. Success can be measured in many ways. It's our duty. to provide to our youth. I want to see it someday in my own eyes. There's going to be a Latino president the White House. We need it.
037ministry is warm welcoming for all of us. Please extend the community can have the opportunity give out their inputs. I said we can develop build together with make this dream reality. Thank you so much. Thank you for your excellent work. [Applause] Good evening board members. My name is Kiana Munos and I am with the African-American Community Service Agency. Um we proudly stand in solidarity with our partners at MAXA SOS Mayfair in the school of art and culture in the vision for transforming MAXA into a cultural and into a cultural center that is empowering hub. This vision aligns with every community's values where community voices particularly those of youth and families are centered in shaping their own future. We urge the board to extend negotiations by at least two months. This extension is not a delay.
038It is a necessary step towards equality and authenticity within community engagement. Our families deserve the time and space to be heard and to dream and to cocreate a space that reflects their aspirations. Thank you for your commitment to the process and prioritizing people, partnership, and a power of community voice. Thank you. [Applause] Hi everybody, my name is Miguel Saledo. Um, I think MAXA is important because it's a an ignition to spark young minds to engage and learn about their culture, community, and potential career opportunities. Um, I don't really understand how you guys can all look at this as a means to gain profit. Um it's unfortunate to hear that you are willing to invest to demo this beautiful cultural landmark uh instead of restoring it expecting community to find the funds which if that's what
039we need to do we can but in just two months we need more time than just two months. Um but you should be an ally to your community instead instead of dividing your community because of inequitable funding from the state. Right. So Moxa holds a place uh a lot in the community members hearts old and young. Um I demand you move forward with the with Moxa and support our efforts to keep it open. Sali Pes deserves this indefinitely. And I just want to say if you guys can all look at me because you guys are looking down just what are you guys going to want to be remembered by? So just that Thank you. [Applause] Good afternoon. Vicent. My name is Vicenta. I'm here present to express my solid support to preserving the MAXA building
040in the Mayfair community. as a member of a community. I believe Maxa is not only a building of culture. Oh, it's a symbol of hope, culture, and opportunities for our youth and families. Thank you. Yes. Dream big about the possibility, the potential. [Music] Jose for the students and the community of East San Jose. Please extend the process instead of ending the dialogue. Give us at least more than two months. We'll have conversations. that we have the voices of the residents, the youth, families, the families, make sure that they're completely heard, all their voices. So, in the future, the way it was back then in its glory days, it heyday. Gracias. Thank you. I want to try. Hi. Uh my name is Angelica Kaluhano and I've been working on SOMOS for 19 years. I've had experience
041uh when they when it closed max in 2015. Um Lupita Perez and many members are here. We clean the bathrooms and we mapped the floors to know to sustain the maxi clothes. Unfortunately at that time we don't have a people like you to understand how important is this building for us. You know, Maxa was part of our first or first uh indoor soccer, our first program growing together. As a parents, we are the teachers there. We create the programs without money, without nothing. Parents bring the resources and we create the program building to create run together. Based on that, we ask YMCA and after that we have the first grant in MAXA to create our programs. This is how we work. You know, I think we are ready as a community to bring this opportunity
042for our our children. Thank you. Buenardes. My name is Jessica Pasados and I'm the co-executive director of the School of Arts and Culture at the Mexican Heritage Plaza. So for us, Maxa is more than a structure. It is a symbol of our community's resilience, identity, and hope. For decades, it has been a place where youth found leadership, families access services, and culture was celebrated. Today, we have a powerful opportunity to reimagine MAXA as a community empowerment hub that brings essential services, learning, and connection to the heart of Alam Rock. We understand and respect the board's responsibility to manage district assets wisely. We also want to reassure you that we are not looking for a temporary fix, but for a transformative partnership, one that will elevate the district's visibility, increase family engagement, and attract more students
043by showing Alamrock Union School District's commitment to innovation, quality, and community centered education. Now through our conversations with Superintendent Sera, what we have asked for is for more time to come up with a thoughtful operating agreement that we can present to the school district in partnership with the district in order to operate a building and ensure that it is viable for you and for the community. Thank you. Good afternoon, Victor Vasquez at Somos. And I want to take the time and appreciation to the administration to the board members for creating a space for us to have dialogue and to really get down and understand what opportunity we have at this moment. I think one of one of the things I want to reassure and Helica talked about this program that she called growing together. that
044program, the connection was with Elamrock families, Alamrock kids. That was a program for kids who did not have summer opportunities that were academic and cultural and social. So, we created that we didn't, you know, because I think that exemplifies that all organizations have a commitment to serve the students of Alam Rock and the families and to and I want to reassure that as as a very important step. We have a vision of partnership that I want to like briefly just share with our letter. We want to create a partnership that share vision with you and the community. We want to understand the cost. We want to understand the liabilities and come up with a campaign that will bring resources for the building but also for for this Alamrock district. So, I want to thank you
045for that and um thank you again for for supporting our efforts and I look forward to our next conversations. [Applause] Uh hello, my name is Julia Hernandez and I just wanted to say that we should keep in reopen for the Mayfair community because it once offered many important services and opportunities that we still need today, especially with the current government and political situation, the community, school boards, and the city of San Jose as a whole should come together in every which way possible to reopen this place because it can offer us I'm sorry, a community center of safe space for children as well as gathering spaces not just today but for the future and um want to say that thank you for your time. [Applause] Hello, my name is Lisette Sanchez. I've been a uh
046member of SOS Mayfair for over 10 years as a volunteer um as part of the community now part of the board of directors and today I'm here to express um my support to the preservation of the building of Maxa. Maxa was in the past a safest space for the community and it's now a symbol of culture and um hope and we will like for uh we would like to request to extend the process to at least the two months that has been requested for conversations to guarantee that all the voices of the residents in yode are heard. uh Maxa is uh Maxa can continue serving as a grace uh center and it's it will create a space for a lot of kids to develop not only at a safe space but also to be grounded
047with their culture where they can explore where they can um where they can root for you know their community and also for the parents to feel comfortable at a safe space where also can get the help and the assistance and the healing that they need. Thank you. [Applause] My number is Susanna Burgos Latin Control Cancer. My name is um Susanna Burgos and I I work with Latinas Against Cancer. Latinos Contact Cancer. I'm here to talk as a mother and a grandmother of our community in Mayfair. I want to express my support to preserve the Moxa building. As a parent, I enjoyed the space. I had the privilege to have that space where my children and I could run in their fields and in their spaces. We had a gym, karate classes, dance classes. I'm saddened
048to see that space with such a huge [Music] potential. I would like to see someday my grandkids enjoy this space. So they could be develop their leadership skills. Um it would be helpful for them to have those art classes, music classes. It would help them mental health. Please consider this space so our youth can continue. continue. Thank you for your excellent work. Thank you. [Applause] Good evening. My name is Olivia Ortiz. Um I'm not going to repeat what people said. I think they I agree with everything they said, but one thing that I'm sure and I really truly believe in my heart that Maxa was great back then, but I know that we can make it better. We can make it greater for our kids. Our kids need a space where they can, you know,
049have time after school. They can have programs. But most important thing is that we need time. We need time so we can figure out we can do a great job. We can't do this in just in a certain amount of time. So please give us more time. Give, you know, uh, the collective and the articulture more time to figure this out. I know we can do it and it's going to be great. It's a it's going to be a great place. So, I also want to thank you guys for giving the time today to speak all of the members and the community members and parents. I appreciate that a lot and hopefully, you know, we can keep this competition going. It's really important for my son goes to Renaiss Madson and it breaks my heart
050whether to have a a place to practice for sports cuz it's raining, it's hot and it's it's hard for them. Thank you. Thank you. Hello. Hello, how are you? My name is Mendoza. I'm here with Amigos Gual Lupes onto your empowerment and this is a collective. Uh what we asking here today, I'm not going to repeat it again and stuff, but we asking for a little bit more time. You guys been doing the right thing for a long time. Keep doing the right thing by our families. Our families are going to need a place, a beacon of hope again with this uh administration that has been attacking us left, right, and from every other place. So keep doing the right thing. I don't think it's too much to ask. Two two months to keep working
051together to see what we can come up with. So if we can get two more months, it will be great. Thank you for doing the great work you guys are doing. Thank you. Good evening everyone. My name is Florida Leon. I am u from the community. I used to be a part and I care for this community because I have relatives living in this uh district. Today I'm here again uh to ask you guys for more time for uh uh we didn't have a lot of other organizations to come forward and wanted to work to do something about MAXA. We know MAXA what whoever build MAXA the be at the beginning they build it for a reason because our community needs a space of uh wellness and uh our kids needs uh uh spaces to
052uh like sports, art, creativity is very important in our communities and now more than ever with all that is happening with our country with the leadership that we have it's in your hands you know to dream big and to allow uh this community to sustain this building that as many of them already mentioned the importance that will have an impact in our community. Don't forget about the kids that passed away in the past in this community. I always want to remember those kids. Next speaker don't remember don't forget about them should be honored to these kids that passed away. Thank you very much. Next speaker. [Applause] Good afternoon. Um, thank you for having us again. Um, my name is Itali Martinez with Somos Mafur and last month we did come up here and we asked
053for um y'all to work with us and partner up and see what what could be done with Moxa and how we could bring back to our community, right? And today we're asking like my peers said that we need more time. We need more time to plan something that big and mainly if we want something to last, something to not be just for a little bit of amount of time. Um, I do want to highlight the story of one of our community members. Um, she is here, but her son actually was able to be in Moxa and be in the footsaw team and they also had a gym and now he is a professional boxer. And that just reminds me of many of my peers since I did have myself the privilege to take advantage of
054that space and actually utilize it. And a lot of my peers, they're already lawyers, they're doctors, nurses, and I just want to highlight the need of that for our youth. Thank you. [Applause] Sorry. Um, my name is Yamani Rhodess. I'm here with the African-American Community Service Agency. I'm an educator. I do the Lego robotics program and I'm not from San Jose. I'm from East Palo Alto. We had a Boys and Girls Club just like the Moxa program and it helped me see other adults, other educators, other professionals that look like me, that act like me, that talk like me and uh really uh encouraged me to become an educator myself. And these spaces that you that they have is opportunity not only for kids, but you know, kids that look like you guys. You know,
055we don't all come from the same demographic. And it's important for our kids to see somebody that looks like them, that talks like them, that acts like them, that wants better for not only themselves, but for their community. And that's all I have to say. Thank you guys. Thank you. Um, good evening honorable board members and trustees. My name is Ashley Guerrero and I'm the program coordinator for the Hominess Activos at SOOS Mayfair. First I want to acknowledge the homminous activos who came to who had the courage to make public comment and speak on this very important issue today. It is through spaces like the hovveness activivos where youth have find their voice and courage to come into these spaces and advocate for themselves. Just as I have a duty to serve the hominess I
056also the rock unified school district has a duty to serve the youth and families of this community. Let's be clear once again we are not looking to argue. We are looking to work with you to dream big about what's possible to imagine the impact that a revitalized MAXA would have on the students of Elro and the greater east side San Jose region. The absence of MAXA hasn't just left a hole on the east side. It's been felt throughout the the whole San Jose community. So tonight, I urge you not to close this door, extend the process. Give us just two more months. Two more months to bring in the voices of the families, youth, and residents who deserve to be heard. Thank you. So this will be the last speaker. You're the 35th speaker. Okay.
057Go ahead. Okay. Hi, my name my name is Magdalena and I'm here to support Mayfair and Cis collective. I have living here in Mayfair neighborhood for 34 years. I remember when I used to go to Maxa to take my walks. Uh I also remember to see many youths doing different activities. That that's why I'm asking you to bring Maxa back to U to our community. Thank you. [Applause] Okay. So, any trustee comment? Can I just after the superintendent? Yes. Go ahead. Thank Thank you, Madam President. um board of trustees uh as directed at the board at the March 27th uh board meeting uh I had the opportunity to meet with the SOS Mayfair and also with the school of arts and culture uh to address the four questions that were asked. Uh number one, how
058will the liability be addressed by the coalition? How will the site security be managed? How will maintenance and upkeep be handled? and also how to ensure that the you how will the district or how how will the district ensure this remains a partnership not simply just a handover of the site. And to that end, my staff and I met with the collective twice on April 1st and also on April 20 uh 1st uh 2025. And the participants uh included Victor Vasquez and Gabriel Fernandez from Somos Mayfair, Jessica Pacado from the School of Arts and Culture, Deacon Ruven Solorio from the Center of uh Employment and Training, Council Member Peter Ortiz, Angel Rios uh Jr. deputy city manager for the city of San Jose and also my assistant principal uh superintendent I'm sorry not a principal
059uh Terresa Dels's director of uh Ed Variel and chief of communications and community engagement Serio Diaz Luna uh together we discussed uh the MAXA Sinclair uh building's legacy as a vital community hub that once provided life-changing services to alum youth and families The collective is is respectfully requesting two to three months to continue working in partnership with the office to develop with my office to develop a joint operational plan and long-term ground lease. This proposal would be designed to serve both ARUSD students and the broader community and it would directly address the four questions outlined by the board. The intent is to have them return with a comprehensive proposal for your consideration within that time frame or for or at a future board meeting determined by the board. And so that's the update that I
060have for you. Uh I'll turn it over to you, Madam President, or uh any discussion by the trustees? So um as um chair of the committee that u has jurisdiction over this I I want to thank uh safer for the and the coalition that came together uh for putting forward a plan. Um I I read the letter that you provided and I think it's as I stated to some of your some of the leadership that I spoke to and think it's moving in the right direction and so uh I appreciate that. Um, and so at this point, I'd like to hear from my colleagues as to what your thoughts are with regard to um the uh plan that's that's been proposed. And so to kind of get a better sense as to where we're at
061because it's a pretty big decision. I uh I've heard the concerns and the comments that have been raised by uh community members. I also want to make sure that we're aware I think you are uh that u we have a lot of folks, a lot of people coming at us with needs and our priority is our students. That's what we're here for. That's what we're intended. Uh that's what we were created and that's what we have to do. If we fail that and we failed as a district and we should not be here. All right. Um and the Moxa is an important thing. It's an important asset. It's something that's personal to me, family members, uh myself who visited uh the center and uh benefited from the center. However, the priority for the district is
062our students, our schools, and providing a dignified and quality education to our kids. Unfortunately, because of our financial crisis, we are now seeing that we're going to still commit be committed to providing a quality and dignified education. It's still going to happen, but it's becoming more challenging and more challenging and more challenging. We see our kids in the special ed program that are being looked at as if they are the ones who are taking the resources and things are having to be adjusted and that's sometimes very painful for me to see. Uh, and I don't blame anybody. It's the what I what I do blame is this uh this crappy model that's been put in place that allows uh certain communities to have no resources and others to have too many resources. It's not right.
063It's wrong. But that's what we are dealing with. That's what the situation we're faced with. And so at this point, Superintendent, how much more do we still have to come up with in order to not be taken over by the state in after three years from now? So we're still deficit spending. Um we're still on a qualified uh budget and the um for the 202 actually for next year 2526 we're actually deficit spending more than uh $9 million. For the the year after that 2627 we're deficit spending more than $7 million. And so if we do not uh begin to generate any revenue uh to address that issue then we will definitely potentially be taking order. Yes. And so the idea here is to for everybody to be on the same page that we are
064facing this existential crisis. In addition, we constantly face the terror. That's what it is. as a board member, as somebody who's responsible to uh ensure that this district continues to move forward and that we're here to provide an education for the future kids of Alen Rock, not just the ones we have now. Uh it's always waking up to what's happening in Mexico. Uh when Manny uh Barbara was here on the interim, he wound up dealing with three fires being set by the same guy who wound up getting taken to jail and then let out a couple days later and kept on coming back. That's what we're facing. We just recently faced a break-in. somebody who decided to go and jump on the roof and uh tear the place apart again and again and again. Uh
065the fear there and it's very real is that we're going to wind up having a situation where somebody OD's in there falls through the roof, kills themselves. Guess what? Their parents are coming at us saying you caused this and now you have to pay us $10 million. And where's that coming from? From the kids. And so I just want to make sure you're aware as to what is the thought process that's going on for folks who are sitting at least for myself. I'll speak for myself. I'm not sure if you guys are also stressed about that, but I am. Um, and it's that's what's happening right now as we're talking about this very important asset. And so, while I appreciate the work as I I appreciate the work that's being done by everybody here, I
066am very very appreciative of the work that's being done. I also am cognizant and I want to be be incredibly clear that uh we are uh uh facing these situation this crisis and so um and so thank you all for being here. I now at this point I'd love to hear from my colleagues so we can you know continue to have this conversation. Okay. Um Trusty Kina do you have anything to say? Yes. Go ahead. Anybody else does? I've seen I'll go after Trusty on the letter. He's going to go after you. Go ahead. All right. Um, thank you so much administration community members for coming together. Um, you know, I want to give a shout out, you know, to my colleague here, um, Andres Cantero, who, um, I was able to sit with last
067year, you know, and, um, we've been giving a lot of time, you know, and I'm glad we're here, like where we were at and having conversations of demolishing was breaking my heart. So, I'm happy to be here, you know, we've grown from where we were at to where we're at now. Um, and the possibilities of partnerships, right? Um I look forward to hopefully and you know if my colleagues um support this adding it to our list um and I'm forgetting the name of our firm right now. We have Gilmore Realy realy property. Yes. So adding that um so definitely putting a pause right in any demolition talks like not going in that direction but going in the direction of how we can possibly save this building. Um and what you know again dream right dream
068for our community because as uh my colleague Andreso mentioned we're here to advocate on behalf of our children and families of Alamrock which include Mayfair which include all the you know families that we're dreaming on behalf of. So we're all I mean we all have the same goal and um you know I think you know the leaders that I've worked with in this room I know can make it happen. I know we have um the money in our Silicon Valley to make sure that this building building is opened up um back to again better than what it was before, right? because we want uh something that's going to be sustainable for the next generations, seven generations ahead at least, you know, and that um you know, any one of us adults that see any mismanagement
069of funds or feel something feels funny that we speak up right away and that what happened once upon a time does not ever happen in our community. Um and so I as a leader will make sure to be that leader on behalf of our children and children's children's children that we talked about um that depend on us today. Repeat. most. Fore speech. And thank you very Do you need to comment? Thank you. wanted to talk about a lot of effort as district. Look at more. I felt the president We really And the top We're also fantastic. Next time. kindergarten kindergarten class. We are proud of the new learning experience. Please. Please. Thank you. testimony. So I can those different. disgust. Two or First of all, the Foreign program. You're welcome. years ago. I purple. Forever.
070We have to speak. All of our people always That's what we have to do. Thank you. finger. Lots of people. office. We have a