Nov 06, 2025 - Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees

001So, we'll call this um regular meeting of board of trustees on 116 2025 at 5:00 pm to order. And with that, we'll do a roll call. Um Anita >> present. >> Renee Longshore >> here. you >> uh I know your name. [laughter] >> Amanda, if you can >> here, I'm here as well. Thank you. Okay, if everyone can please rise and join me and face the flag for the pledge, please. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. What's up? Wonderful. So, Kylie, I don't see on here. Am I looking at the wrong agenda? Because >> There we go. That's why. I'm sorry. Okay. [clears throat] Thank you. Okay. Pledge of Allegiance.

002Public comments. So, we um will move on to item four, which is public comments. And Kylie, do we have some cards here? >> We do. >> Okay. >> Sorry. >> Thank you. Okay. So, I want to remind everyone that we have a lot of public uh comment cards tonight and we have a lot to cover tonight. We are prepared to be here very late. That's not an issue, but we do want to hold everyone uh to the three minutes if possible. And uh so please when you speak if you can look up at the screen there or I'll remind you if you go way over. So uh with that uh first up is Javier Aleandra [applause] and on deck will be Angelica Rodriguez. >> Javier, are you here? >> Anybody seen Oh, okay. Uh, we'll

003take it out of order then. We'll go with Angelica Rodriguez. Are you here? Is she close by? Okay. And then Angela Rencon will be number three. [clears throat] Good evening. >> Good evening. >> You're you're live. >> Okay. I'm good. I'm ready to go. >> Yeah. >> Reset my timer. >> Excuse me. >> I said, did you reset my timer? >> Oh, yeah. This hasn't started yet. >> I'm teasing. >> Okay. >> Thank you. All right. Hello. My name is Angelica Rodriguez and I'd first like to um state I'm very nervous to be standing in front of you because I'm in fear of retaliation that may come as I speak the truth today. I speak only facts and after Miss Pena spoke she's no longer in her office but on leave because of that again

004that makes me very nervous. Um with that being said I'm a teacher at Granite Hills High School. I'm here to speak about the impact Mr. Mr. Rencon has made on our campus and how his absence is neg negatively affecting our school. Since 2024, Mr. Rencon took over and revamped the site emergency response plan, created a first aid team with medical staff on campus to be able to be ready to assist our site in the event of a disaster. Mr. Rinkcon created and implemented a safer pickup and drop off procedure for our school that included written and visual communications for our community. He even worked with the town of Apple Valley to recalibrate signals, our light signals um until our our site was given a crossing guard. Mr. Ringcon was only um the only admin who

005took it upon himself to be out there each morning to aid the safe crossing of our students without being asked. Each day, I personally see him being a constant presence in the quad, in the morning, during lunches, after school. um each day he's out there greeting students. Uh recently I had a negative experience that highlighted Mr. Rcon's absence in a negative way. Our school had no proper supervision for an athletic event during the Granite versus Barto football game. I happened to be in my classroom. Security was aware that I was still on campus. They came to my classroom and said there was an emergency on the football field. A Barto football player had been hit by three granite players and was knocked out on the ground. Upon my arrival, the young man was sitting on

006the bench. My quick assessment was that he may have a concussion. I asked where admin was and I was informed that there was no admin on site. Security attempted to call and was unable to reach anyone. I called our district nurse. We both agreed 911 needed to be called. She was able to reach Jeremiah Harrison. He said he was going to be on his way to campus. After asking security, he stated admin had not returned his phone call. I was with the student and called 911 when security went to the gate to open it to lead emergency services our way. During that time, Carrie from security was with me and a verbal argument broke out on the football field between both football teams. She had to run it and assist by herself. Again, no admin

007or medical personnel on site. Barcel staff and parents were very upset and began to yell at me and get in my face. there. Where was medical personnel for the game? Where was our admin? What's going on? Being in this situation was very frustrating because I had no clue. I let them know I was just to help there to help the student. I am a nurse, but I was on campus grading papers. I wanted I want to state and I want everyone to know if Mr. Ringcon was still on campus, he would have ensured that proper personnel would have been there. I spoke to Jeremiah after the ambulance left with the student. He did apologize for the lack of support that night. However, I have not spoken to any other admin about that situation. It is

008quite frustrating and very discouraging that no one has acknowledged what has happened um to me personally. Board, I urge you to please reconsider what our district is doing to Mr. Ringcon. We say as a district we stand for dignity, community, authenticity, service, service to our students and first and that was not done. Do we really do this? I ask you that you please uh stand for what's right and what is true. Thank you. [applause] >> Thank you for your comments, Angelica. Oh, Javier, are you in here yet? There he is. And then Angela Rencon after Javier. [applause] Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm Angelica Rodriguez. >> Uh good evening board, uh superintendent, cabinet, um and members. Um uh I am no longer director of the great academy. I have resigned in protest over my treatment

009and ongoing issues I continue to see in our CT and VAP programs. I now serve only as instrumental instructor at Granite Hills High School. Uh at the recent Fikmat meeting, uh board member Miss Longshore spoke courageously about a culture of fear and favoritism within our district. Her words resonated deeply with me because I have lived that culture and speaking with others at my site, I know they have lived it, too. Over the past two years, I've been the subject of multiple investigations that follow the same troubling pattern. complaints filed without any attempted informal resolution, factual errors left uncorrected, and decisions that appear retaliatory after I raised questions about policy compliance in the use of Prop 28 funds. At one time, I was removed at one [clears throat] point I was removed from my extracurricular band

010duties under the false assumption of embezzlement. That allegation was later proved unfounded, but the reputational and emotional damage remained. These experience have left me questioning how district policy can be applied so differently depending on who is involved. Under AR1 1312.1, every complainant shall include a description of any prior attempt to discuss the issue with the employee and the failure to resolve the matter. In my cases, that step never occurred. HR has stated that complaintants do not have to speak with me before filing. Respectfully, that interpretation contradicts both the letter and the intent of the regulation. When due process protections are treated as optional, fairness becomes discretionary. The same double standard policy can be seen in the handling of Prop 28 and CTE funds. Board policy 412 4 uh 4112.8 forbids employees from influencing employing employment

011or compensation of relatives or from taking part in decisions that benefit family members. Yet we have clear examples of this policy being ignored. Uh members of the Peak family have spoken to this board about their own experience. An administrator's two childrens were included in subsidized in districtf funed New York trip. A teacher's niece and nephew directly benefit benefited from that same trip. Additional relatives of staff have been placed in positions supported by Prop 28 allocate allocations. Each of these situations creates not only a conflict of interest, but the appearance of impropriety, something board policy explicitly prohibits. Meanwhile, staff, families, and even students who have raised these concerns and these violations often face scrutiny or retaliation. When favoritism shields individuals from accountability while f fear silences others, it corrods the foundation of trust that public education

012depends on. This is the culture that Miss Longore described and I'm asking the board to confront directly. I urge the board to enforce its own policies consistently to audit Prop 28 and CTE expenditures for compliance and to require that AR-1 1312.1 be followed exactly as written. No educator should have to fear reprisal for expecting fairness and no program should be exempted for transparency. In my remaining time, I want to speak for someone else who deserves dignity. Mr. Daniel Rencon. There is no staff member at Granite Hills who deserve who has given more of himself to that school. Many nights when I left campus late, there was only one other car in the parking lot. His he is a good man and he does not to be deserve to be treated unfairly. It is shameful. I

013ask that he be given the fair opportunity and respect that every employee deserves. Our students deserve a district where honesty is protected, integrity is modeled, and equity is not a slogan but a standard. Thank you for your time and continued service to the district. [cheering] [applause] Okay. Um, Angelica Rodriguez. Uh, Angela. >> See, I >> That's okay. They both start with you. >> I was told some You were somebody else. >> That's okay. >> Okay, you're up. >> Good evening. My name is Angela Ringcon and I served as the behavioral health counselor at Granite Hills High School. Tonight, I'm here to address a disturbing pattern within ABUSD, one defined by fear-based leadership, favoritism, lack of transparency, and the silencing of employees who raise legitimate concerns. What have I experienced is not isolated. It reflects a

014broader culture where decisions are made behind closed doors. Accountability is selective and employees who speak with someone in authority are punished rather than heard. Recently, both my husband and I were placed on administrative leave. I we were both placed on administrative leave in September. While I cannot discuss the specifics of my case due to ongoing investigation, I can speak to the inconsistencies and how this district chooses to protect and who to punish. Individuals under investigation for serious misconduct have been allowed to continue working. Yet, my husband was placed on lease simply for giving me access to a closet so I could pack up my office, an office I was ordered to clear out within 24 hours. Throughout that entire process, I was never interviewed, never asked for my account, and to this day, no one

015has contacted me regarding my own investigation. And only yesterday, I learned that the reason I believed I was placed on leave was not the reason at all. When I signed my leave paperwork, no explanation was provided. I was simply told I was being placed on leave while an investigation took place. and others across ABUSD are experiencing the same thing. Placed on leave with no explanation, no communication, and no transparency. The timing is even more alarming. I was placed on leave right after the district learned I was meeting with a board member. The board member saw firsthand the district's repeated attempts to interrupt and terminate our conversation. When communication is shut down, transparency does not exist. This reflects a pattern, a pattern of selective accountability, of silencing those who question and protecting the district's own agendas.

016These actions directly contradict ABUSD's stated values of dignity, community, authenticity, and service. And while staff are expected to act with integrity, the district office has shown it cannot be trusted, especially given recent financial irregularities and incidents that have left ABUSD exposed to lawsuits. If leadership cannot responsibly manage its own finances or maintain stability on its own campus, how can this board accept their explanation at face value on decisions affecting careers, families, and entire school communities? So tonight, I urge this board, do not accept the district's reports without question. When the district plays games with people's livelihood, students are the ones who suffer. Classrooms lose stability, trust collapses, and entire campuses feel the impact. Just look at Granite Hills. I stand here not out of anger, but out of conviction. I have given my heart to

017this district and the students, and I will not remain silent while a culture of fear and favoritism harms those who care more about the kids. So, I ask again, who is holding the district responsible? Because right now, it feels like no one is. It's time for this board to step up, ask the tough questions, and hold this district accountable because transparency, fairness, and accountability are not just words. They are what this community deserves. Thank you. [cheering] >> [applause] >> Okay, up next is Jenna Conturus and after Jenna be Alex Gonzalez. Good evening board members. My name is Jenna. I'm a CSA at Granite Hills High School and I've been with the school district since 2019. I wanted to use my voice today to speak up for the injustice that Daniel Rencon has experienced. I'm asking

018that the board members seriously reconsider the district's recommend recommendation of essentially demoting Daniel and stripping him of his current title and position. Without Daniel and his secretary, the entire athletics department has been in a state of chaos. With the person that has taken over for the time being, there have been multiple instances of mistakes that have affected the student athletes in an impactful way. Volleyball CIF rankings were messed up. A couple of the home football games were free for everybody because somebody forgot to bring the QR codes. Who's paying for those losses? The district. The money is supposed to go back into the athletic department and towards the students. Unfortunately and more seriously, the issue of gross negligence happened during a lower level football game where a student from the other team was injured and

019there was no administrator in attendance, no nurse and no trainer. This would have never happened if Daniel had been there. Um, Daniel, sorry. Unfortunately, it is common for certain administrators to not show up to extracurricular events that they are obligated to be at. Daniel is the one constant on campus. Just last school year, Daniel was tasked with not only the job duties and responsibilities of the athletic director, which entails many long nights due to sports games, being responsible for all teams and coaches. He's also assigned He was also assigned and responsible to be a part of the discipline for a certain group of students that were not student athletes. He was and is responsible for the maintenance department and the CSA department, both of which had some serious issues with negative culture. In my opinion,

020he was able to foster a more positive and enjoyable work atmosphere. Last school year, Daniel was visibly burnt out, yet he never complained and he never made it known. He inquired about why he was given so much on his plate. Not to mention, he had to deal with two very serious family emergencies. He was told that it was in preparation in case he wanted to be principal one day. So last year, it was okay for him to take on so many responsibilities and be considered for such a prestigious position. But this year, because of the mistake of somebody else, he's going to be nailed to the wall. To my knowledge, Daniel has never been in trouble, written up, or had any disciplinary actions against him. Daniel is the first person to help and jump in

021any situation when needed. He has always has a positive attitude. Daniel helped to change the negative culture on campus. Daniel has lit literally given everything he has to this school, his time, effort, and his own money. He has poured his blood, sweat, and tears into this school for 10 plus years, sacrificing time away from his family. Daniel is the heart and soul of this school. And for him to be punished so harshly for a key being given to another manager to a closet that has nothing of any significance, nothing confidential. It's literally a supply closet. Is unfathomable unfathomable to me. I can tell you right now that it is absolutely not about a key. This is a personal vendetta against him because he spoke up in defense of his wife who was also targeted about

022this key. Thank you for your time. [applause] Alex Rosyn Sy will be up next and then Erica Tapia. It's all yours. >> Hi, my name is Alex Gonzalez. Um, I've been teaching at Granite Hills for the last 11 years. I'm also the head football coach at Granite Hills, so I work directly under Daniel Ringcon. Um, I had all this typed up, but it seems like everyone has pretty much said what um I originally was going to bring up, but there's a few things that I can testify to that not everyone has been able to share. Over the past 11 years as a coach under Daniel's leadership, I've always felt that my voice was heard. He was always at least willing to listen to what I had to say or and accommodate some of my needs

023and and put us in a position to be successful. When I first got the job at Granite, the athletic department was in shambles in all honesty. And now he's brought it up to a respectable one. We have these coaching meetings four times a year where he teaches us and convinces us to teach for high character to build a student athlete rather than just an athlete. Build on high character and teach values. These are the things that I base my program off of. So we saw eye to eye in a lot in a lot of ways. He oversees 25 CIF varsity sports which is the most in the high desert. Out of those 25, 16 made CIF playoffs last year. 7-1 DSL titles all under his leadership. In addition to that, Daniel Rinkan's the Desert Sky

024League president. Um, so his leadership goes beyond just our school. The entire league that our school competes in, all of the athletic directors look to him to schedule and organize sporting events, uh, organize league meetings and distribute league patches and titles. He also helps rewrite the league bylaws that our league falls under. He oversees athletics and facilities as well, like everyone has been mentioning. He oversees the CSAs, the history department, and updates the emergency action plan at our school. Um, so I'm not going to keep saying everything that everyone has been saying, but as a person that works directly with Daniel, I I feel his leadership is missed and it will be missed. and his uh the school has definitely benefited from having him uh over the past 11 years and I'm just here to

025speak on his behalf for that. Um thank you. [applause] >> Hey Roslin and then Erica Tapia and then Daisy Vargas. You got third one up. Okay, good evening. My name is Roslin Sy and I stand before you today as a dedicated professional of this community. For 19 years, AVUSD has been more than a district. It has been my professional home. Setting aside my reserve nature today is difficult, but I speak from a place of sincere dedication and deep concern. I haven't just built connections. I've watched students grow up. supported their families and worked along co alongside colleagues who feel like family. The incredible educators who mentored me here are one of the main reasons I remained in this career. My life is intertwined with this district. The deep frustration of watching our finest educators, the

026people we trained and nurtured walk away is constant. They don't leave by choice. They leave because they must, seeking competitive compensation that honors their vital work elsewhere. We are trapped in a detrimental cycle of training and loss. AVUSD invests heavily in developing talent only for neighboring districts to immediately harvest it. This instability severely impacts the quality of education and support for our children. My fear is stark. If this pay disparity persists, we will be unable to attract or retain the quality professionals our students deserve. We will be left scrambling to fill positions from an increasingly limited employment pool. And then those are there are those of us who cannot easily leave those deeply rooted here after decades of service. We are making significant personal sacrifices. I am currently working two supplemental jobs after school and

027during the summer just to meet essential financial needs. Our loyalty should not be a financial penalty. I urge this board for the sake of our students and our committed staff to take immediate and decisive action to address this pay disparity. We must secure our future together. [applause and cheering] Erica, and then Daisy Vargas, and then Sandra Walker. Good evening, board members, Superintendent Nelson, and Assistant Superintendent. My name is Erica Tabia, and I stand before you today as a proud, dedicated, and passionate educator in this community. In 2022, I took a leap of faith and accepted a position as a Spanish teacher at Ghana Hills High School. And when I say a leap of faith, I truly mean it. Prior to interviewing with this district, I had no idea this town even existed. My husband and

028I were simply looking for a place where we could build a life. At the time, I thought I was just finding a job. But what I found was much more than a job. I found home. At Granite At Granite Hills, I found colleagues who became mentors, mentors who became friends, and a community of educators who share the same heart for teaching. At Granite, my students are more than just names on a roster. They're like my own kids. Every morning, I walk into my classroom excited to teach, to connect, and to share a piece of who I am with them. If you stepped into my classroom, you would see learning in action, laughter, collaboration, and a sense of community, and students growing together in ways that go far beyond the lesson plan. I granted, I also

029found a peers program, or like I prefer to say, peers found me. This program has transformed me both professionally and personally. My passion for peers grew so deeply that I that it inspired me to return to school and pursue a master's degree in school counseling, which I am proud to share I recently completed. [applause] Today, I can say with complete confidence that I am deeply invested in this district, in our students, and in the families we serve. Granite Hills isn't just where I work, it's where I belong. This year, I learned that I'm going to be a mother. And with that news, everything has taken on a new meaning. More than ever, I find myself thinking about stability, security, and the future. With a baby on the way, every decision feels bigger now. And because

030it's no longer just about me, it's about my family. Right now, staying in ABUSD doesn't feel like the logical choice. Knowing I could make about $13,000 more as a teacher in neighboring districts. Money that could cover child care costs. I'm already worried about for the future. And I can make even more if I pursue a school counseling position somewhere else. And yet, the thought of leaving this district breaks my heart. Because for me, this district has never been about the paycheck. It's about the people, my students, my colleagues, and the community that has been my home for the past four years. The reality is bills and expenses depend on a paycheck. So I find myself in a critical decision point in my life to stay and continue to struggle financially or to leave in search

031of greater stability and relief for my family. From the mo bottom of my heart, I hope I never make to I I never have to make that choice. My heart is here in this district at Granite Hills where I dream that one day my own child might walk across that stage and graduate as a Cougar. People often tell me everyone is replaceable at work. But I couldn't disagree more. Dedicated, passionate and loving educators are not replaceable. We are the heart and soul of this community. Thank you. [applause] [cheering] >> Daisy. >> Good evening everyone. My name is Daisy Vargas and I'm a school counselor at Granite Hills High School. I have to tell you, I'm shy outside of work. So, if I'm up here, it's because it matters. Because something inside of me is saying,

032you have to. My journey started in 2013 at Granite Hills High School as a student teacher. I was lucky. I got to learn from the best. And then in 2015, I had the honor of joining Granite as a Spanish teacher. >> [snorts] >> Did you know that Granite Hills foreign language department has been observed by more than 250 teachers from outside the district? That's the kind of teacher you guys have. [applause] In 2022, I became school counselor, not because I didn't love teaching anymore, but because I wanted to help students in a different way. Academic planning, crisis management, parent workshops, classroom presentations, I do it all. Once again, trained by the best. Do you see a pattern yet? We're amazing at growing talent, just not great at keeping it. Because I know for a fact

033many counselors before me were trained right here, and they're now over at Hisperia. [snorts] I went back to school and took loans to earn my counseling degree. I did it because it's a requirement to set up students in this role. Even though it meant more depth and no pay increase, and I don't regret it. I'm here for my students with everything I have. But that doesn't prevent me from knowing my worth. I started my career as a teacher at Toronto High School in Snowline. So, I actually have real numbers to compare. I And look, these numbers might not mean a lot to you, but to someone like me who has to make every cent count. It means so much. If I were still a teacher at Torano, I'll be making an extra $1,100 a month.

034That's as a teacher because counselors make more. Or since I live in Victorville, if I were over at Victor, I'll be making about $1,500 more a month. again, teacher pay because counselors over there make way more. So hear this. I could go back to being a teacher in any of the surrounding districts and still make more than I do here as a school counselor. [snorts] And every time I see that pay gap, it's a reminder that I'm not valued here. That and and that I do not have unlimited time to wait for things to change. And listen, this is this isn't about greed. It's about reality. I sacrificed a lot to stay here. Working a second job, switching medical providers, cutting back on everything out of love for this district. Because my love for these

035districts means everything to me. But I'm exhausted. Love alone doesn't pay my bills or feed my kids. So many of us, the quiet ones, decided to speak in front of you today because we refuse to watch our family of dedicated teachers and counselors reach their breaking point and walk away. And I am I am standing here. I am standing here because I refuse to quietly disappear, okay? Without you knowing my why. We deserve better. Our kids deserve better. So tonight, I ask you, stand with us. Don't let this district lose the people who make it great. Thank you. Sandra Walker and after Sandra will be Steve Cups. >> Hi, my name is Sandra Waller. I work at Sandia Academy. This is my 20th year with Outl Unified. I'm here tonight to speak tonight about frustration.

036I'm frustrated that after working all day taking care of the kids that I in my care and putting their needs and well-being first all day and still accomplishing an academic goal. I come tonight to my third board meeting to try and justify the value of Apple Valley Unified teachers. I have colleagues who are coaches who work after school programs. I have friends who teach afterchool academic programs. If they didn't work these programs, there would be no programs. They work these programs, yes, the programs because they enjoy the sport or activity and want to offer the student more, but reality, they need the extra money. Teaching shouldn't be a side hustle. That's then there's the committees and extracurricular activities that we participate in and plan in after school hours. We host and plan family events to

037engage families and show them how to help their children academically. We continue our education to continue to offer our students the best we have to offer which often comes at an additional cost to us. We are role models offering best of us as an example of what can be achieved, what kind of person we should be, how we should treat others and life lessons, things that we know are very often lacking in children's homes. We make relationships between families and the school, bonds between future citizens and teachers. So if you ask me to justify the value of the Apple Valley Unified teachers, I think I just have [applause] >> after Steve will be Karen. >> Well, good evening. Um, normally I come up I'm just a math geek and I talk numbers. Um, but after

038listening to the speeches, thank you guys. Um, I I want to talk about transparency and I want to talk about accountability because I think that's where we are. I've stood up for months and I've talked about doing the right thing. Um, and so we used to have a lot more transparency found and we've had to now as we're in negotiations, we're asking for numbers and on different things. Uh, again, I was going to throw out all these numbers tonight, but we talked about it was something costs 31,000 and then we just got another thing and it's 48,000 and that's at 16% bonus. Um, but I just went back and I did the math and I thought 16% bonus at 48,000 that would have only been a salary of about 300,000. But then there were 12

039people that are getting that bonus. There's no way that that could be that number. And so it made me start thinking, what else are we hiding? What's out there? And so the accountability comes in. [cheering and applause] So last week when we had the Fikmat report come in and then uh one of the board members mentioned about $15.3 million spent in onetime money. So my question comes to you of board did you know about that the money that was spent one time that's not one time it's ongoing now and that's into the usable money that we are not able to be paid out of. So did the board know about it and if not why not? Secondly, did Superintendent Nelson, did you know about it or did it just come out of the the budgeting

040office were those things? And so it leads us as a big group to start questioning all those things that are transparent in all of those numbers. The final thing that I wanted to talk about was at the end of that report, it talked about there was a button that was pushed and and we were recommended not to push that button on the district, but it was seems like every time that something's going to get cut, it comes from certificated. And there was $2.5 million that was saying it was going to be cut now to make things meet out of and that had nothing to do with we haven't even got a raise yet. $2.5 million coming from certificated. And so I asked that same question before that came out. Did the board know about that?

041And if the board didn't know about that, why not? Comes the same way to the superintendent and the other ones. Did we know about that? Was that money already done or did it just come from a business office that kind of threw those numbers out? Because we're a bunch of people and these people matter and they're standing up with heart tonight. [applause] [cheering] And I just think I think they're owed they're owed that transparency. They're owed the accountability because if nothing comes our way then we got to know why. And I think this group is ready to hold people accountable. Thank you. [applause and cheering] >> After Karen will be Candace James. Steve didn't throw out numbers, but I'm going to throw out some numbers tonight. Good evening, Superintendent Nelson, board members, cabinet, President Scott,

042and audience. Thank you all. This is incredible. Thank you. My name is Karen Sabers and I stand here as the proud president of the Apple Valley Unified Teachers Association demanding a fair and equitable settlement for the educators who serve this community every single day. There are several key points I need to review with you tonight. Last Thursday, Mr. Cobb stated that the management and CSEA insurance caps were increased to match a Buddhas. That adjustment resulted in significant raise per person for both groups on top of the 6% salary increase and the 16% longevity bonus of 30 years. As you can see in the As you can see in the insurance comparison sheet in your folder, management received an additional $9,7201 per person this settlement. CSEA [clears throat] received an additional $4,2168 per person this settlement.

043Abuda received $1,1365 57 per person based on last year's enrollment and will and what will be added on the settlement to come. In addition, Avuda dropped from 631 members taking insurance down to 595 after the buyout, saving this district 720,000. This is not an equitable settlement. Historically, management and classified employees chose to place their increase on salary only, while Voodoo strategically placed increases on both salary and health and welfare. We are now being penalized for making that choice because this district is not providing us the same level of adjustment this year. It has also been said that Avuda received a 3% raise last year and therefore management and CSA CSEA were given the same. That's inaccurate. We were only given the opportunity to take the $2,750 per cell increase to help the district with recruitment

044efforts and also help them to offer a $5,000 sign on bonus. Yet again, we are being penalized for supporting the district's need. The second page in your folder shows that the 2750 per cell did not amount to a 3% raise for everyone. In fact, once you re reach year 9, the percentage drops to 2% range. Next, you have the page showing the cops cost of collapsing the certificated salary schedule to year 22, excuse me, year 22. That cost is simply $564,640.84 less than a 1%. Finally, I have included the salary schedule we proposed for our last best offer along with the comparison to hisparic Hisparia school district. Since AVUSD consistently compares us to Hisperia, we use their salary schedule. We are asking only to be competitive with surrounding districts, nothing more. Your folder also includes

045the current salary schedule for your reference. Right now, ABUSD and this board are failing to prioritize educators and are not investing in our classrooms at the level our students deserve. The district is shortch changing both students and certificated staff, leaving us with no choice but to continue advocating for a fair and equitable settlement. It is projected that the district will save over 10 million on certificated salaries through the retirement book buyout program and the elimination of more than 45 positions. Yet none of these savings are being reinvested into the sub the salaries or supports of the remaining certificated staff. We must be able to recruit and retain quality educators for the children of Apple Valley. Our student success depends on it. You have the ability to correct this. You have the opportunity to bring us

046back to the bargaining table and do what is right. The choice is yours. In solidarity, Karen Sabers. [cheering] >> [applause] >> Candace. >> Good evening, members of the board, cabinet, and community members in the audience. Thank you for this opportunity to speak tonight. My name is Candace James and I'm here speaking to you as a voting resident of Apple Valley, a parent of a freshman and a junior at Apple Valley High School and as an employee of this district for 11 years with the last five being a teacher at Vanguard. All these years in the district, many of the people sitting in front of me tonight I have seriously respected. I've trusted them and I've really looked up to them. For years, I've taken such pride in our leadership. But as I stand here tonight,

047I have an ache in my heart because I'm terrified that I was wrong. When I got up to speak to you back in April, I had much less information than I have now. I stood up here and I told you then that I was very worried about the state of this district. But now, I am more than worried. I'm horrified and quite frankly, I'm angry. Before I go any further though, I want to say Trustee Longshore, thank you. >> [applause] [applause] >> Thank you so much for being brave enough to speak up. We need people like you to stand up and protect this district and most importantly the students and the families that were that you were voted in by. Please know that we see you and we hope that the rest of the board

048will follow suit, remembering that is the Apple Valley families who trusted them when they voted. I can't wrap my head around how so many questionable decisions have been approved by the people sitting here in front of me. We're all human. We all make mistakes. But as adults, we know that people with integrity can own when they've made a bad choice. they can swallow their pride and began the journey to make it right. But I can't help but wonder, is it about protecting the reputation of friends, the good old boys and girls club instead of the well-being of ABUSD students, and the reputation of this district? [applause] Why are we deficit spending still? Why do we continue to have highly paid employees on the payroll whose payroll funding source has long expired? Why aren't our choices

049being made with the importance of student success in mind? Are our leaders protecting their friends instead of having these hard conversations? I'll finish with this. ABUSD prides itself in its core value values. Words that are displayed proudly above all of your heads. Dignity, respecting the inherent worth of every individual except teachers and students in need. Community, fostering a strong sense of belonging and collaboration between students, families, and staff, except when it comes to collaborating with all these people to better our budget. Authenticity, encouraging genuiness and being true to oneself, except when it means having hard conversations about the budget and that require tough decisions. and service, a commitment to helping and supporting others within the school community. Except when we aren't supporting the very people who support our students every single day. [applause and cheering]

050Our students deserve stability. My own children deserve the best education. They deserve experienced teacher and teachers and staff who want to stay. But unless we address the financial reality, we're going to lose exactly the people that our students need most. Thank you. [cheering] [applause] All right, that brings us to close session. Thank you to all the speakers. Here's the cards back, Kylie. Keep those down there. So, we'll move on to close session items. Item one, superintendent evaluation. Item two, pupil personnel expulsion case exp 42526 and annual review case AR number 72526. [clears throat] Item three, conference on litigation, government code 54956.9, subsection A. Current litigation nine cases CIBSB 2223303 CIVVS2400 289 255026 2550 6329 2550-566 Government Code section 549 54.5 subsection C 54956.9 subsection D 2 and E1 anticipated litigation one case 2 24501 government

051code section 54954.5 subsection C 549 56.9 D subsection D2 and E1 anticipated litigation one case 20242501 54954.5 subsection D54 956.95 anticipated litigation two cases claimant Gonzalez and Juan correction Juan Gonzalez and claim Arlene Garcia. Item four, public employee discipline dismissal release reassignment transfer leave title certificate and classified employees. Item five, public employee appointed resignation retirement reduction title certificated and classified employees. Six, conference with labor negotiator, agency negotiator Jeremiah Harrison. B, employee organization Alpha Bella Unified Teachers Association. Seven, conference with labor negotiator, agency negotiator Kristen Dupri. B, employee organization, California School Employees Association. Eight, conference with labor negotiator, agency negotiator, Trenne Nelson. B, employee organization unrepresented. Item nine, conference with real property negotiator, government code 54956.8, negotiation parties, Matthew Schuenberg, Apple Valley Unified School District. and 10 security matters const with Apple Valley Unified School District

052Chief of Police. That brings us to a motion to adjourn to close session. >> So moved. >> We have a motion. >> Second. >> Buchanan, a second. Opara. Um, Miss Tucker >> I. >> Longshore >> I. >> Okara >> I. >> Ukanon >> I vote I as well. Okay. So that brings us to close session. We'll be back at 7:00. Thank you. All right, we just got a thumbs up. So, we'll call this meeting back to order. Sorry, we're a little bit late. Um, so we'll call this regular board meeting to order at 7:19. With that, we'll do a roll call. Amanda Buchanan >> uh here. >> Maria Okara >> here. >> Renee Longshore >> here. >> Anita Tucker >> here. >> I'm here as well. If you guys can all rise and please join

053me and face the flag here, please [clears throat] >> ready to flag the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. >> Okay, I'll just ask that we do a moment of silence at this time for a Apple Valley Unified School District family member, Dr. Nancy Moore. So, um please um join me in a moment of silence. Thank you. Item four, report student representatives. First up is Sycamore Rocks. [applause] So we have Zoe Lawning and Landy. There's the two. Oh, okay. But anyway, welcome. Can you bring the mic down there? There you go. >> Okay. >> Good evening. My name is Landon. >> And I'm And I'm Zoe. First off, we would like to to say how

054excited we are to tell you about the fantastic activities and programs we have at at Sigma Rocks. This year, our Sycamore Rocks community has come together to continue to grow and flourish. We have a variety of activities that students can participate in from TK to 6th grade. Our afterchool clubs include STEM, art around the world, boys and girls sports, esports, paper crafting, astronomy, and student council. >> We are excited to announce th this year's production is going to be Finding Nemo. Signups are next week and the performance will end in March. >> I am part of the student council and so far this year we have planned a variety of spirit days. This year for breast cancer awareness month we planned on Wednesdays we wear pink which holds a special meaning for us this year

055because we have one of our beloved teachers fighting breast cancer. As a school we have a we have come together to spread awareness through wearing pink. We have also helped to judge the Halloween costume contest and are going to gear up to plan kindness week. This year we held our second annual pumpkin painting contest for our Halloween event. This year we went with a monster patch theme. Classes designed their own pumpkin monsters and people who attended our Halloween event were able to vote for their favorite pumpkins. >> We we had our annual spooktacular Halloween trick-or- treat event on October 31st. This year we held our second candy do donation contest which brought in 870 pounds of candy. Our event had an amazing turnout. This hit among families each year. We had so much extra donated

056candy that we packaged up the remaining candy and we will be donating the the remainder to a good cause. Our school also holds two 5k runs every year. every student and staff member participates and we have a blast while we are promoting health and fitness. We will be having the autumn 5K in just a few weeks. We have lots of community participation. I would like I would like to invite you all I would like to invite all of you to join us on November 21st. In December, our school holds a holiday fun night where where students and families come together to play games, create crafts, enjoy good food, and and celebrate local vendors. This year, we we look forward to make more memories with Santa and our sac community. Our school is an art focused

057school. At the end of every school year, we have a schoolwide arts fair. This year, our arts fair is May 8th. At the arts fair, students display artwork they have worked on throughout the school year, and each grade level does a music performance. We also have lots of games and arts focused activities such as schoolwide morals that we hang up and display for the years to come. This year, Mi Miss Bonedz and our sixth grade teachers have decided they want us to to go to camp as our sixth grade field trip. We are extremely excited to have the opportunity to go to Pathfinders Camp and go and go on hikes, practice archery, and go horseback riding along with other STEM based activities. Lastly, we have a variety of fundraisers planned for this year. The first

058one was fall where students created fun art pieces and could have their art put on items like mugs, bags, and keychains. Parents and family members are still in the process of purchasing items, and it closes next week. We are excited to see how much money we bring in. With a new fundraiser committee composed of parents and staff, we are excited to see where this year's fundraising will take us. One of our students favorites is our PI a teacher event we do in honor of Pi Day in March. >> One last thing we would we we would really like to thank all the teachers and staff at Sycamore Rocks. [gasps] They truly make our school special. Thank you for allowing us to speak about how exciting Sycamor Rock is. Have a great night. [applause] >> Well,

059thank you for speaking. Good job. Up next is High Desert Premier Academy. Angelica >> [applause] >> Hi. Um, good evening, President Raw Lee, esteemed board members, Superintendent Nelson, Executive Cabinet, Apple Valley Unified Staff, and educational partners. I hope everyone had a wonderful break or fall break and an amazing Halloween. I would like to introduce HCPA's newest speaker, Jaden Alagi, who will be with us for the remainder of the year speaking with me at every board meeting. Hi, I'm Jenna Nagi, a junior at HGPA. The mayor's youth leadership conference, which took place in November 3rd, went well. I learned what it was like to be a council member and how they decide on one thing even when everyone even when everyone else disagrees. I also got to work as a part of a team with other

060students and council members. Meeting the mayor was fun. They talked about leadership and what it means to make tough decisions even when others don't agree with them. Overall, it was a good field trip and taught me about teamwork and decision-m. This month, we have a new assistant principal and two new teachers. Welcome Mr. Holgrief, Dr. Kohley, and Mr. Lynn. We're excited to have both amazing teachers and of course Mr. Holgrief who's an awesome assistant principal. Dr. Kohley has such a kind, warm-hearted soul which makes every makes I'm so sorry which makes it very easy to like him and I'm also looking forward to meeting Mr. Lynn. Mr. Hull grief is such an amazing assistant principal. He knows what he's doing and of course it's always good to have a familiar face at HDPA. >> The

061tall call field trip was good. Many students said it was fun and and enjoyable. They got the chance to play golf with Mr. Gonzalez and just have a fun afternoon. And for lunch they served sandwiches. You can't go wrong with that. The first quarter was a success for our seniors. We had 24 students meet their graduation requirements. Congratulations and great job. Art of food is a new elective that we have. We're learning about every culture through food. Throughout the week, we learn new recipes and put them in our recipe books. And on Fridays, we get to eat. Two weeks ago, we made or two weeks ago, we ate mac and cheese. Let me tell y'all, it was so good. [laughter] Last week we had p so aros leche which is also called rice pudding and

062we had some we also had some desserts. All the food was amazing and so good. It helped us learn more about Mexican culture but in a savory way. >> Esports has started off their Fortnite season. They won their first three games and were in first place for a bit and so sadly got knocked down because of a because of a loss. Our Rocket League team is also doing a good job right now. This all this also this is also the biggest our esports program has ever been with a variety of games to play. >> Thank you everyone and I hope you all had you guys all had a good fall break and I look forward to seeing you guys all next month. [applause] >> Thank you Granite Hills. Jill Rodriguez. [applause] >> Hi, good evening

063board members, executive cabinet, and attendees. My name is Jill and I'm the GC president for Granite Hills High School. It's hard to believe we are already in our in the month of November and halfway through our first semester. Time flies when you're caffeinated. Cougars had a great first quarter, earning just shy of a 3.0 OG GPA collectively and had a 93 attend 93% attendance rate and this is a 2% increase compared to last year. Apparently we really like being in class now. Our seniors basted in a realy of senior night for our fall sports soaking up all the memories of their time spent on their practices, games, and bus rides filled with snacks and questionable playlists. They danced the night away at homecoming with 462 other attendees and stormed into college application season. Basically consisting

064of coffee, coffee, panic, and refreshing your email 24/7 times a day. Speaking of college, eight AVID students have already been accepted to universities and applications season just started. One student, Tiarara Odum, was was just accepted to four universities last month, making it look easy. Kathern McCartney has committed to play softball for CSUSB. Sailor Groom was also offered a softball position and has committed to Waldorf University. Today, over 150 AVID students presented their college and career for boards to the English classes, answering questions about the colleges they researched, and shared admissions information. But my question was how close their Starbucks was to the campus. The annual event also hosted 20 different college college and career representatives such as Grand Canyon University, Air Force, Apple Valley Animal Control, and many more. Students were not students were able

065to not only visit the college boards, but also talk to the vendors about college and career opportunities. Our counselors are fully committed to helping our students navigate applications as well. Counseling has offered future ready future ready day today to help students with their college applications both VVC and for you four-year universities financial aid applications and career exploration from now until November 18th except every Wednesday. They are offering after afterchool college and financial help financial aid help from 2 to 4 pm. If students attend four sessions, they will they will receive a free a fee waiver for their CSU college application, which for seniors is like the winning the lottery. 150 seniors will tra travel to CSUSB on November 20th for instant admit day and take a tour of their campus. In our CTE programs, our

066Skills USA officers attend the High Desert Education Summit hosted by BBC and spent time networking with industry professionals and honoring their soft skills. They polished their firm handshakes and eye contact. Last week we hosted our CTE advisory meeting and we had great discussions with our industry partners to align our programs with the latest technology and skills in medical arts, media, entertainment, engineering, information and communication technology and game design. This work builds relationships to ensure we are meeting industry needs. We also send feedback and welcome them into the classroom for industrylead programs. Shout out to our culinary and baking classes for making dinner for Avon. Nothing beats nothing says career readiness like feeding everyone. This Friday, grab your snorkeling gear and head over to the pact as it gets transformed to Bikini Bottom. And our Granite

067Hills High School Theater proudly presents Spongebob the musical. The cast, the crew are putting all the final touches together that will make it a fun, memorable show. We also added two special shows for the elementary school in our district. 500 additional students will be will get to see Spongebob and friends to save the day. The month of October was busy as usual for ASB. We had an amazing turnout for homecoming and celebrated Halloween with students and staff costume contest. We will be you would actually be surprised on how many teachers have like cape costumes. Um football had a hard fall season and finished out league play with a nailbiter against Silverado. We're proud that our student athletes are and are already looking forward to next season. Volleyball is once again DSL champions. Despite finishing first

068in their league, they received a tough playoff bid and traveled to face the division 2 number one seed Downey and nearly pulled off the upset. Granite Hills received DSL player of the year, lobero of the year, coach of the year, for for first team all league and second team all league honors, collecting them like Pokemon cards. Girls golf finished third in the league. And with a team of six first year golfers and only two returners, we're excited for the next year's turnout and a bright future. Girls cross country dominated league finals today taking home seven out of 10 all league champ honors and Camden Healey earning runner of the year. Clearly they don't believe in walking anywhere. These DSL champions will move on to CIF finals next week. Boys cross country also took first place

069in DSL and ear and earned six out of 10 all league honors and Troy Yutter earning runner of the year. Winter sports are just around the corner and teams have begun practicing in hopes of bringing home the championship banners. So, if you have any Starbucks cards or scholarships laying around, they'll definitely be snagged by Granite. As always, we thank you for your continued support from Granite Hills High School. I look forward to seeing you all again next month lead the way. [applause] Thank you, Jill. I think you like coffee, huh? You've talked about it maybe four or five times. [laughter] We'll have some next time for you. Last but not least, Effie Apple Valley. [applause] Hello and good evening, Superintendent Nelson, President Raleigh, members of the board, and attendees. My name is Effie Aila and

070I'm the ASB line president at Apple Valley High School. It's great to be back here tonight to share what's been happening on campus because as always, our Sunundevils have been busy, impressive, and full of pride. October was another month full of excitement, accomplishments, and community. We have a lot to talk about. So, let's get right into our Sunundevil news. Beginning with athletics, something we always love to celebrate. Our girls tennis team wrapped up their league season with a well-deserved senior night celebration. While we were sad to see the regular season come to come to an end, that didn't last long. The girls advanced to CIF round one and absolutely crushed it. With a final score of 10 to eight, they showed us all what true Sunundable spirit looks like. Over at the stadium, our football

071team closed out their regular season with an unforgettable Halloween senior night that left those Sultana Sultans feeling spooked. This game doubled as both a season closer and senior night. On the court, our volleyball team ended their season in true Sunundevil fashion, serving up a clean sweep against Oakills High School. Freshman, JV, and varsity. Three wins, one night. Definitely not a great day to be a Bulldog. And running into our next achievement, literally, our cross country team wrapped up their season at the MRL finals where several of our runners advanced to CIF round one. We couldn't be prouder of these determined athletes for pushing through every mile and representing Apple Valley with heart. Beyond athletics, our Sunundevils have been just as busy making memories, hosting events, and showing off their school spirit all across campus after

072a well-deserved fall break. Obviously, it was the night before homecoming where our students had the time of their lives at our annual homecoming game. We kept the traditions alive with our annual halftime show. We had our homecoming court driven around the field, not in a limo, but in a very big pickup truck in true Apple Valley style. After a perfect weekend, it was important we shook our Sundevils back into reality, which worked out perfectly considering the following week was the Great Shakeout. What would normally be just a boring excuse to get out of class is definitely not the case at our school. A team of students from our medical program and sports medicine pathway created a full mock emergency scene. EMR helpers assisted with carrying people out of classrooms while sports med make sure made

073sure everything ran smoothly just like it would in a real emergency. It proved once again that sundables know how to balance fun and focus like nobody else. Next up, we got to celebrate students who have gone above and beyond both in and out of the classroom. Our National Honor Society held its annual induction ceremony, welcoming a new class of students who have demonstrated outstanding scholarship, leadership, service, and character. Families, teachers, and fellow students cheered as each each new member took the oath, officially joining the team of leaders committed to excellence. In the following week, our AVHS 12th graders were honored in a very special way. Students that have maintained a 4.0 and above throughout all semesters of high school were awarded with their academic letter. The ceremony was hosted by our awesome principal, Mr. Goodro.

074And Mr. Goodro bravely made the promise that if he mispronounced anyone's name, he would personally give you a discount on your prom ticket. And we're sending all our love his way because that man's in debt. Another exciting achievement to celebrate is our AVHS seniors receiving their seal of biiteracy. This honor recognizes students who are fluent in more than one language, and it's a testament to their hard work, dedication, and cultural knowledge. We're so proud of our Sunundevils for reaching this incredible milestone and representing Apple Valley High School with excellence. Right after celebrating our scholars, it was time for trunk or treat, which brought our school community together for a fun night filled with candy, costumes, and creativity. Clubs, teams, and teachers transformed their trunks into everything from princess themes to haunted basketball. Families across Apple

075Valley joined in on the festivities, and it was the perfect way to keep the October spirit alive and show just how festive Sunundevils can be. Even with all the celebrations and events, we don't forget to pause and listen to our students. Our youth truth survey allowed students to share their thoughts and feedback about life at AVHS. From academics to campus culture, this survey gives us the data that we use in our superintendent advisory council where we review all the info and put the feedback into action. On the academic and career side of things, our CCE programs have been busy giving students real world experience and hands-on learning. Students from Camp and AVID have been going on college tours, exploring different campuses, and getting a taste of what life after high school could look like. These

076trips not only inspire our Sunundevils to dream big, but also give them practical insight into the opportunities that await them. Our mass 9th graders had the chance to visit CalState San Bernardino, learning more about college opportunities and gaining insight into pathways in the medical field. Meanwhile, our students celebrated National Medical Assisting Day, recognizing all the hard work and dedication it takes to pursue a future in healthcare. Beyond campus tours, our CTE student leaders represented AVHS at the High Desert Education Summit, meeting with local leaders, sharing ideas, and showing just how capable our Sunundevils really are. Meanwhile, our FFA students have been representing Apple Valley High with pride. Just yesterday, 18 FFA members competed in a regional speaking competition with one of our teams placing fifth overall. To top it off, several alumni earned their American

077degree, which is the highest honor an FFA member can receive. Looking ahead, our computer and media pathway students have some exciting opportunities on the horizon. They'll be attending a workshop at Victor Valley High School. I know, hosted by Preston Brown to prepare for the upcoming MDCP video competition. We have several field trips planned. On November 12th, students will participate in the SBCSS communications tour. And on November 17th, our freshmen will visit both CSUSB and Victor Valley College for their college tours. In addition, our CTE programs are staying busy this month. We're registering students for Skills USA regionals where they'll showcase their skills and compete with others across the region throughout November. CCE classes will also work on articulation with Victor Valley College, helping students earn helping students earn that credit for the hands-on work they're

078already doing. We'll also be kicking off our first Renaissance Rally of the Year, celebrating student achievement and school spirit in true Sunundevil style. On the athletic front, there's more CIF action to cheer on, and of course, even more opportunities for our students to learn, grow, and show off their Sundevil pride. It's been such a joy to share everything happening at Apple Valley High School and none of it would be possible without your continued support. We truly appreciate all you do for our student body. I can't wait to be back next month to brag about we are why we are the high school. Thank you for your time and remember Sunundevil pride is contagious. [applause] Good job as always, Effie. You put that together by yourself. A lot of work. Good job. All right. Item five,

079recognition outstanding representation of district core values. This will be Superintendent Nelson's presentation. I'm glad if I have to be at this podium following these students that it's about recognition. So, if I can have Miss Mog, is she in the audience? Yes. [cheering] [applause] Wherever you want to stand while we talk about you. >> Okay. >> So, um, Miss Moog was nominated by Maryanne Roberts and the nomination said that Miss Moog demonstrates community authenticity and service when she organized a care effort for one of our colleagues undergoing a medical challenge. Her true care for our staff community um staff community was an encouragement to all, but it was especially amazing to see how her concern unified staff around an individual who needed support and care. Great job, Mrs. Mog. Now, what I am going to say

080is I've seen the pictures. You all wear pink on Wednesday and I think that's awesome and I'm glad you guys reported about it and I'm sure that Miss Stangle is watching and thrilled that you guys >> Oh, no, she's here. Of course she is. >> So, we're gonna we're going to clap for you, too, because I think that when um people come together to unite around a um a family member at their school site, um we know how important you are, Nicole. And um we're glad you're here cheering her on. And we should all be wearing pink on Wednesday in honor of Nicole and anybody else, but October in particular is a big month for us to celebrate and remember that um there are people that are struggling with um cancer. So, thank you for

081taking the time to do that and to continue to do that. >> And it wasn't just me. I just wanted to be known. It was not just me. Um number one, glory to God, the most um above. Um and also, I mean, you had Molina making the shirts, you had all of our staff coming together, putting together donations, gift cards. So please, I do not want I was the mouthpiece, but everybody else did everything. So on behalf of everybody, thank you. And it's not just me. [applause] Oh, Mrs. Ma, come back. We need the board up front so that we can take a picture. You should have seen Make a place for three. >> [applause] [cheering] >> Is Sabrina Fuentes in the AI? Oh, of course. She's right in the front row. How do I

082miss you, Sabrina? [applause] So Sabrina is a teacher at Granite Hills High School and she was nominated by a is it Aniston? >> Um Solomon and he said she she says I believe that Sabrina demonstrates community by working with community cougar coffee. Her mods severe students work so hard every day to learn new skills while they cook and make drinks for staff members. Sabrina directs the students to work as a team and to help each other out if they have a question. She is also working so hard to create an atmosphere of togetherness with within Granite Hills campus. She always spreads school spirit during events week and does her best to have the students be included in all school events. I have witnessed this firsthand. I have come to the room while they're cooking and

083serving and it is one of the most joyous rooms on campus. So if anybody's ever at Granite and they want to see this in action, just got to get with Sabrina and figure out a time. So yeah. So congratulations Sabrina. You do amazing work for kids that [applause] Is there room for her mom? >> [applause] [cheering] >> Good job to Nice. All right, moving right along. We'll move on to item six on the agenda, which is board member comments. We'll start down at the left with Nita Tucker. >> Thank you. Good evening. I want to begin by thanking all of our teachers and staff who took the time to be here tonight and share your thoughts and experiences with us. As someone who's been on this board for almost a year now, I continue to

084be struck by the passion, dedication, and care that each of you brings to our students every day. It's clear how deeply you care not just about our students, but about the future of Apple Valley Unified and our community. I want you to know that I respect and value your voices. Your advocacy advocacy comes from a place of deep commitment and it is something that deserves acknowledgement. While we may not have answers tonight, I want to assure you that your concerns are not falling on deaf ears. These are difficult conversations, but they are necessary ones. and your perspectives are helping to guide them. As a board, we are committed to listening, learning, and finding ways to move forward together in the best interests of our students, staff, and community. Thank you again for all you do,

085for your hard work, your honesty, and your continued dedication to our students. It does not go unnoticed. Also, thank you to our students for their reports this month. Um, so much is happening at our schools and it's really great to hear about it from you. Uh, your reports allow us to experience it through your eyes. I know it always seems that November is a long month to get through, especially with trying to get through all your college applications and get them finalized and submitted, studying for your semester exams, and trying to fit a myriad of activities, including sleep, into a 24-hour day. Please make sure you have time to enjoy the celebrations and special moments as you work so hard in your scholastics. This past month, I was excited to be able to attend the

086Rancho Verde's talent show, and I really have to say that we have some definitely truly accomplished students. Um, our staff, the PTO, parents were all there along with Mr. Cranston to cheer on our students and they were amazing. if you get a chance to see some of them perform. I was also able to attend homecoming game for Granite Kales High School and see our homecoming kings and queens crowned. There were some pretty amazing cars transporting our students as well. And our Granite Hills football team won the game. Congratulations to our football team and coaches. Congratulations to Apple Valley Sundevils football team and coaches on reaching the CIF playoffs. And I know tomorrow we will all be wearing our orange and supporting our team against North Torrance. I think also uh both uh Granite and Apple,

087you told me all these other athletes that were recognized and went to CIF, congratulations on those achievements as well. Um, I was able to attend the San Bernardino County School [snorts] Bo School Board fall joint event where we were able to listen to an amazing panel discuss ways to involve our community and helping increase our students attendance. Uh this month I also look forward to attending my very last masters in governance class which will provide me with more support and training to help me in my position as a school board member. November is Native American Heritage Month and it's a time to honor the rich traditions, ancestries, and contributions of Native Americans. We also celebrate our veterans this month and we want to thank all those who served our country to defend our freedom. This

088week is actually retired teachers week in California. Our retired teachers have devoted a lifetime to educating our students and supporting our community. Thank you to all our retired teachers, especially um Miss Akpara and Miss Langshore on the board and to our retired Apple Valley teachers. We appreciate you. And finally, I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving with lots of good food, relaxing, and rejuvenating break before the end of our semester. Thank you. [applause] Thank you, Anita. Uh Renee Longshore. >> Yes. Good evening. Um I would like to start by thanking our student representatives. Um you all um just have such confidence when you come before us and I couldn't even imagine at your age doing what you do. So, um I will always extend my awe and gratitude for you guys coming before us

089and giving us the information of all the wonderful things that are happening at your campuses. Um Sycamore Rocks, um Landon and Zoe, I'm looking forward to your arts around the world. I had things flying through my head wondering what they could be, but I'm really looking forward to going and seeing that. Um, of course I'm also looking forward to your March performance coming up. Um, so thank you for providing those dates for us. Um, for our high desert Premier Academy, Angelica and Jaden. Um, that's exciting news that 24 students met uh, graduation requirements. That's a job well done and a lot of hard work, I'm sure. Um, Granite Hills High School Jill. Uh, wonderful news with our softball players signing to go to college. I'm sure they're like, "Yes, we did it." Um, and for

090our VI volleyball team being DSL champions, um, a job well done. Uh, am also looking forward to the cross country next week, that CIF final. So, it's fun to see the athletes as they've developed through the season and they reach those points of being able to compete on a higher level. So, thank you for bringing that to us. Um, October was a busy month. I had a wonderful opportunity to attend the lead uh Latino education and advocacy days summit at CSUSB. I congratulated our students as they received the California State Seal of Bioliteracy at Oak Hills High School and connected with community and student leaders at the High Desert Education Summit at VVC. I also joined Granite Hills High School's Great Academy for their presentation of the best of Broadway, a choir concert. I want

091to extend my heartfelt thanks to the students and teachers who go above and beyond to cultivate a boisterous performing arts program at Granite Hills High School. Shane Churchill, Camille Hinahosa, Simon Sherof, and Kyra Glisten. The time, energy, and expertise you invest in our students is evident, and you lead with true passion. It was so inspiring to see the Apple Valley High School sensations as they continued their artistic pursuit despite the end of a program through a student club at Apple Valley High School. They coordinated with staff and performed with the Granite Hills High School Concert Choir, Encore, and Chamber Singers. What a beautiful example of all we can accomplish when we work together. I have been in somber reflection in the wake of Fickmatt's presentation this past week. They made it abundantly clear we lack

092transparency. Fitmat noted a number of inconsistencies with the district and said our administrative team hasn't been forthcoming. It seems like they're trying to confuse people or obscure reports as much as possible, even giving information at the last minute. Our administrative team has not been able to stay out of financial difficulties. You need to be more upfront and honest with us so that we as a board can help provide insight and direction. We hired permanent staff at a cost of $15.3 million per year with temporary funds. NYX reading specialist positions while also doubling our projected spending in the intervention programs intensive tier which is up to 12.4 million now. This is unsustainable. We hired 60 new teachers this year after the board gave direction to instruction to and in direct instruction to stop hiring and return

093admin to the classroom. Projected spending is inflated while money is moved between accounts unchecked. As a board, we are left to wonder if we have any money at all. But last week, truth prevailed. Now we must respond. Instead of following, we need to take the lead. We need to stop wasting time and resources. Stop aiding and abetting roadblocks to progress. Our kids deserve better. So, let's talk money. Figmat said our estimated actual should be close to our un audited actuals. But in three months time, that was not the case. And I handed out those handouts in the back. And I will also pass it down. In three months time, we spent 11.6 million less in books and supplies and reported a difference of 13.2 million in reserves. Between the two reports that are only three

094months apart, numbers have been manipulated to a total of $24.8 8 million in the black. In addition, we projected to stuff 10.8 million into categorical reserves. If you're still following me, that's a total increase of 35.6 million just over summer break. These numbers were supposed to be close, but we are off again by tens of millions of dollars. I have kept a close eye though, and in May, Trusty Akara wisely asked to oversee transfers. I stand with her and ask that we revisit the authorization for temporary borrowing between funds granted on May 22nd, 2025. The quiet shifting of funds from one financial report to the next is mind-boggling. How can we as a board even hope to follow along, let alone make informed decisions? As a district last year, we were deficit $6 million according

095to Figmat and spent 12.2 2 million out of our reserves for the 2425 fiscal year. Yet, we contributed $7.5 million to special revenue and capital facility fund reserves. This was $7.5 million added to three accounts already saturated by approximately $22 million. Now, stay with me. That's 29.6 million sitting in accounts. All while the board wondered if we even had any money at all and positioned our district to take out another highinterest loan. But we did have money. That's crystal clear now. At least 60,842,132.117 in surplus so far to be exact. I help manage our household finances. We spend money we have and we're fully aware when funds are running out. We prioritize essential things and make cuts as need be. I don't add money to our budget until I get and until I get it

096and set it aside for unexpected. And if there's money in savings, I don't take out a loan. As a result, our household is financially stable and secure. I cannot even begin to convey how very concerning ABUSD's current financial state is. According to our unodudited actuals, we have been in deficit spending with our reserves decreasing year-over-year. ABUSD has packed classrooms and underpaid staff when compared to neighboring districts while only amassing $31 million in general reserves by 2425. All neighboring districts boast over $100 million and growing. Where has our money gone? With the lack of fiscal oversight over the years, I suggest that we direct this to the grand jury, someone who is independent and can provide clarity. I appreciate all of you who have spoken up. I know it comes with great trepidation and cost, but

097this is an important conversation to have. Everything starts here. As a district, there are some who have decided not to treat each other with dignity and authenticity in service to our community. As leaders, we need to do better. Today, I call on my fellow board members to join me as we strive for true fiscal solveny. We must request clear and concise data, direct our administration to pri prioritize student learning above all, provide equitable facilities and supplies across our campuses and support and support a proportionate and fairly compensated staff. We need to take back the reigns. And I leave you with this final note. As we move forward, Figmat encourages us to trust each other. But I believe it is our responsibility as your board and superintendent to foster and cultivate that environment through action. How

098we respond to this report is key. Let us choose differently, proceed in genuine transparency, strength, and resolve, providing direction in the best interest of our kids. Thank you. >> [applause] [applause] >> Okay, up next, Maria Okara. >> Well, good evening. Um, I can't follow that because that's a lot to say. Um I'm going to start by uh congratulating all those who received awards today and uh to thank the students who presented to us. I know it's a lot of challenge to sit here and present in front of some of your teachers and in front of the board um that you have probably never had a conversation with. Um now that I have said the the good part, let me go to the other hard part. Uh the last time we had a meeting we met

099with Figmat and at the time of the meeting I did let Figmat um staff know that this are hard conversations for us to hear. It is like having somebody come into your house and telling you your kitchen is dirty and it is hard to hear it uh because you thought you did a good job. And at the point at that point in time I did state that we will go wherever the numbers lead us. We will look at all of the nos and begin to ask hard questions where the nos are. When I saw the Figma report, it it looked to me I see things in pictures quite a bit. It looked like it looked like I came to um the traffic light. It was not green light and it was not amber light. It

100was a red light. And it said that we didn't have the we are at risk as a district. That's the the numbers they gave us. We are at risk as a district. So being at risk as a district, we need to look at what would do we have to do so that we have to leave the emergency room and perhaps go to the urgent care and gradually make it to our homes without getting serious injuries. I know that in the past I have asked questions about where we are as a district, but unless we get those an questions answered uh in a very civilized way, it will be hard for us to get the answers that we need that will be satisfactory. I think we right now the the teachers are very unhappy. I understand

101that. I used to be a teacher. I used to be a member of the bargaining unit. I actually was part of the leadership in the bargaining unit. So I understand what it looks like. Um I also understand that the district is trying to give us as much information as possible, but we just need to know the right questions to ask. So each time you come here and present to us, you give us questions that we should be asking, but we didn't know to ask it or at least I didn't know to ask it. So when you ask them, I take down notes and I come back to ask the same questions. Unfortunately, I don't tend to ask my questions publicly because I was raised where I had to respect the person and give them their

102dignity in public and if I wanted to speak to them, I'll speak to them privately and the only time they will hear from me publicly is only when they have failed to hear me or they have failed to see me and then I publicly will let the world know that you have failed to see me and hear me. So here we go. Um mo most of you uh were my colleagues as a teacher in this district and you all know how I I function. So as a teacher in this district my heart is with teachers. That's not going to change. That's not going to go away. Not because I sit on the board. Even when I'm not sitting on the board, my heart is still with being a teacher. Because once a teacher, you're always

103a teacher. So having said all of that, I do understand that people are having difficulty financially in their homes with their businesses. We have to find a way to fix it. We have to find a way to repair the damage. We have to find a way to build trust. If you don't trust somebody, I don't care what they say to you, it never makes sense. So, we have to build the trust. I can guarantee you that when I say the sun is sign shining outside, I really mean the sun is shining outside and you can check it. So, I know that you are dealing with a lot of lack of trust at this point in time. Um, but I would like to have us begin to rebuild, find ways to rebuild, find ways to talk

104to each other, find ways to uh look at the numbers in in real time. Cuz sometimes when we see the numbers, it's numbers from last month. Something has happened this month. So let us look at the numbers in real time and hopefully your leadership will have that opportunity to sit with the leadership of the district to be able to look at numbers. Are we going to be able to be s to sustain what we are saying we are going to do. It makes no sense that we will say well you will give teachers everything they want and then the state comes and takes us over. So, we want to be able to be reasonable about it, but we also want the truth. The in in my Bible, it says, "The truth shall set you free."

105So, we've got to know what that truth is. And so, moving forward, I do hope that we as a district will come together and have a conversation where we can live the true tenants of what we have written on the on this wall. It makes no sense to say that we are authentic and have service, they have dignity, we have community, we have all of that if we don't believe it. So as a district and we are the body that makes the decision, your financial decision, we will be that body and we just have to speak with one voice. My goal moving forward, I know that Fikmat said something about one-time money. I am hoping that the district will give us a list of the positions that were hired with with one-time money because once

106we have that information, we can begin to say, "Okay, we have this one-time money hires. We really do need this one-time hires. Now, can we make a decision to keep them here or do we make a decision for them to go?" But I am not in the h I probably will be one of those that will never vote to take things away from students in the classroom. That's why I sit here to be sure that students get what they need. And if that's what students need, they need the teachers in front of them. So please be patient with us. And I know that you know patience is hard to come by. And I hope you will be patient enough to let us do this hard work, this hard lifting. We must lift it and get

107it right. Thank you so much. [applause] [cheering] >> Thank you, Maria Amanda. >> All right. So, good evening. Thank you to the students that hung around. I'm sorry. I know it's taking a while to get through, but um I wanted I know there was quite a few events mentioned and I was at a lot of them. Also, I have to say how humble you were for not saying that you received your seal of biiteracy. So, that was [laughter] very awesome. [applause] Um, but one event that um I did want to highlight was at Sitting Bull this um past month and I had the pleasure of attending their family dinner. Um, I had heard about it when I went to back to school night. Um, and I was excited to be able to go. Um, unfortunately

108the student that invited me was not there, but um, everything was prepared from scratch. The students made everything. Um there was a potato soup, um spaghetti with multiple different sauces that the the students had created, bread, um and an assortment of desserts. And they did want me to try like all of them, but I could not. But I will say I tried two. So the lemon dessert was amazing. It was actually served in half of a lemon. Um super, it was just vibrant. Like it was refreshing. Um and then the student who invited me had made the um caramel brownies. So I did have one of those and it was absolutely decadent. It was just great. Um but it was so nice to just sit down with different families um and literally break bread um

109and just share the night. So thank you to Mrs. Blake and also the principal heman for providing that evening. They were the ones that served everything. Um, and they would not let myself or another parent I heard ask if we could stay and help clean up. Um, they shoot us out. So, uh, it was it was fantastic. So, it reminded me also like these are our students that are going to be at the high school level soon and um hopefully participating in the CTE programs that we have in cooking and culinary um because they definitely uh excelled in that area at least from that night. Um but that is it. I'm going to keep it brief here and pass it on to you. >> Great. Thank you, Amanda. So the um I thank the students

110you know um Effie your your enthusiasm you know we sit here month after month and we we hear about what's wrong with the district all day long and uh and then some. But when the students get up and speak, it's it's refreshing because we know we're doing something right because we're getting students like you and you guys here that um are positive and you're going to be the future leaders of the country. Old guys like me, I'm not going to be around. You know, we're going to hand it off and it's going to be up to you. And and in this world today, nobody says what's right. It's just always what's wrong and it's refreshing to see. So, you know, keep up the good work. And uh when we're back there, I keep looking at

111the clock. It's like 7 o'clock. We got to get back because we got the students out here waiting. And I don't, you know, if everybody else has to wait, that's fine. But I don't like you guys to wait. So, so thank you so much for for being so upbeat. So, you guys can go home as soon as done speaking. So, I'm gonna hand it off. >> Thanks. >> Yeah. >> Um I I walked up to Landon and Zoe from Sycamore Rocks because they both serve on the superintendent advisory committee, but I didn't recognize Landon because he had baseball cap on. he doesn't wear it when he comes to um superintendent advisory and um they're amazing and they've done working they've been working on advisory for many years and so I just commend the teachers that

112support them and bring them and let them speak and let them grow. So thank you Miss Burke. Um and then for I know that um Angelica got up and spoke tonight from High Desert Premier Academy and shared that Jaden would be also participating. I got to watch Jaden earlier this week at the mayor's youth leadership summit. Um he was on he was selected to sit up on the panel and he did have to ask hard questions of um the people presenting which were his peers. And so I just love to see that um he learned something from that and is engaged to come here and be part of the the presentations for the board. Jill and Effie. Um I know Jill's gone, but like I said before, I've known both of you since you were

113quite little. And to see you at this level now and um to be able to write letters of recommendation for students that I know are going to be very successful in their future really a good thing. So um thank you for being here all of you because I know you come to support and you don't even get to be up and speak, but thank you. Um for the first time in Apple Valley history, we have um we I shouldn't say we, the human resources department has um offered a class um that will meet six times. It's a 90-minute session for our classified staff members who are aspiring aspiring leaders. We've done this on the certificated um slide many many years. Um but we have not done it with classified staff members. So we started with

114approximately 50. Last night was our second session and we had 42 return. This is voluntary. They're not getting paid, but they do have a desire to learn what the next steps and opportunities are. Um they are aware that in one of the categories there will be a um posting for a backfill of somebody that just retired. And so um several of them I think are considering how they would apply for that. I mentioned it's that time of year for college applications and there are a lot of um letters of recommendation going out across the district. Um students are seeking the people that they know can write a letter that will support um whatever their desired outcome is for college. The Monday the Monday following fall break, I attended a meeting at USC. We are one

115of five districts who will be participating in an A3G workforce study um free to our district funded by the Gates Foundation and Microsoft. Um that then following that I drove to San Frernardino to attend the um Sanino County um school boards association and Riverside joint fall um meeting. We had the opportunity to hear from Dr. Amy Young, a pediatric forensic neglect and abuse physician. And it sounds horrific and I'm sure it is. There are only 250 um such physicians in the nation. And she spoke about the childhood trauma and how those um in trauma learn and show up differently to school. Um the discussion aligned perfectly with the work that we've been doing regarding trauma-informed teaching and learning. And so it was great to hear that perspective as well. We held the first um elementary

116student advisory. And while the first event annually is well attended, the engagement level is a little bit of work always. Um, but not this group. 94th through 8th graders um were the engagement was off the charts. We were excusing students to go to lunch, which is if you see the the um post that Zoe does about it, they get to taste test food. So, it's like a thing. They want to go. They don't want to stay. They want to get in the room and start taste testing. Not this time. They stayed at the walls where they were producing their um posters and they said, "Can't we finish? Um you're not going to share these with our principles yet, right?" And so they stayed until they were done and the engagement was off the charts. So

117um impressive. Commend all of you that sent the students and we can't wait for them to be able to share their information. branch of Birdie students um take the youth truth survey and they present it as students to students and so I got to attend their first assembly of that. They're nervous when they get up there to do it but they did an incredible job. Um the district, town and fire district all participated in the great shakeout on October 23rd and then later that evening I too was there to um put medals around several students necks for um the seal of biiteracy. We know that Apple Valley Granite um both Apple Valley and Granite High School students um benefit from just this offering. We were one of the first districts um in Southern California to

118offer the state seal of biiteracy and to see it grow and have so many students that are fluent in speaking, reading, and writing a second language that'll benefit them in their future is amazing. The High Desert Education Summit held at BBC was mentioned. Um, I love those, but the part I love the most is the students and the student leaders that are there from CTE because they're there doing exactly what Effie said. They're shaking hands or maybe Jill said it, shaking hands, putting their smiles on and um, they are going to be the future and we watch them in action. Um, I was able to go to the MRL and DSL finals in cross country. So, yesterday was um, Apple Valley High School hosting and then today was um, Granite Hills hosting. I got to

119watch um Granite just sweep. I mean, Apple Apple High was impressive, but when you see the girls coming around the corner on the first round and there is no other jersey coming and it's all Granite Hill students, the first seven to come through were Granite Hills students. So, that's something else. And um they should be commended for that outstanding turnout. And then um I know that they talked about um the boys. I didn't get to see it finish, but I was glad to know that um they took first. Um high school seniors will also have the opportunity to go to Cal State San Bernardino to participate in the direct admission admit process over the next several weeks. We'll have hundreds of students that get to participate in that. Um I saw Superintendent Ryan Hullman earlier

120this week and he said to me, "How did you guys get into that?" And I said, "We got invited and we didn't turn it down." So um excited to be part of that um pilot program. And then the annual um educational services Halloween grace took place on Friday. Each department creating a theme of food. Um school sites get to do wonderful cultural events and gatherings. And we don't always get to do that, but it's a great reminder of how important um pulling people together and giving them a little bit of time um to see each other is. And then the town of Apple Valley will hold the grand opening of the Captain Joseph McConnell Jr. um US Air Force Park and Veterans Monument this coming Tuesday on Veterans Day. If you don't have it on

121your calendar, please put it on for one o'clock if you're available. I know that they'd love to see you there. And then um I know Mrs. Longore that you inquired with our CTE coordinators while you were at the summit about um a tour of their CTE programs. I will send something out to board members so that anybody interested because we also are coordinating with town council to get them in to see the programs and to if we can put groups together as opposed to one by one it would be um greatly appreciated. So I'll get some dates from both high schools. I already have some from Granite and then we'll um coordinate and see if anybody is available to do those. That's it. >> Thanks. >> Great. Thank you. All right, you guys can go

122work on your 4.0's. All right, have a good night. Anybody need a quick >> lady's room break? >> Five minutes. I give you five minutes. >> No, I think she meant how long we were going to be. >> Oh, no. No, no, no. Okay. All right. Well, we'll move on then. Um, >> she is going to take a small break. >> You going to use restroom? Okay. >> We're going to take a five minute break here. [laughter] buffering. Dial up. >> You have mail. >> Yeah. >> All right. Thanks. Okay. We'll call the meeting back to order. Uh we're back on the record and we'll move on to item seven which is reports from uh CSEA and I believe John Consilva you're uh here for Mr. Scott. [applause] Good evening, President Savers, members of the

123board, Superintendent Nelson of VUDA leadership, members of the community, and my siblings of the California Schools Employee Association. My name is Jonathan Silva, vice president of CSEA Chapter 828, and I'm speaking this evening on behalf of our chapter president, JC Scott, who is proudly representing our classified employees at a state level. >> Mr. Can you get to speak better into the mic? It's kind of hard there. Though JC cannot be here tonight, his message and our collective voice remained as strong as ever. Over the past several weeks, our district has been under intense scrutiny following the release of the fake fiscal report. That report made it abundantly clear that Apple Valley Unified School District is at a higher risk for uh fiscal insolveny. The findings confirmed that many of us have felt for the years

124the poor decisions, lack of oversight, and disregard for transparency had led us here. Our classified employees, secretaries, custodians, campus security assistants, bus drivers, nutrition services workers, maintenance staff, and par educators are the backbone of this district. We keep the doors open, the classrooms clean, the students safe, and the campuses running. Yet, time and again, we've been the last to be informed, the first to be blamed, and too often the ones asked to do more with less. We cannot continue to go down this path. Accountability must start at the top. The district owes its employees and its students and this community clear communication, responsible leadership, and honest governance. The culture of secrecy, rubber stamping, and backroom decision-making must end. We stand in solidarity with Ava, who continue to fight for a fair and equitable wage along

125with health and welfare benefits that reflect the dignity and professionalism of their work. When our teachers stand up for what is right, they're not just standing up for themselves. They're fighting for every student, every classroom, and the future of Apple Valley. CSEA stands proudly besides them. The FakeMat report was a wake-up call. It's time for administration and the board to listen not to outside consultants or political agendas, but to the people who make this district every single day. Uh the teachers and classified staff who know the schools, the students, and the community better than anyone. Our demand is simple transparency, accountability, and respect. We're calling for open dialogue, responsible physical practices, and meaningful collaboration with our labor partners. The days of silence and disregard are over. The CSEA Chapter 828 remains committed to protecting our

126members, standing with our teachers union, advocating for fair and equitable wages, and ensuring that every decision made in this district reflects the best interests of our students and staff who serve them. Thank you, Jonathan Silva. Behalf of chapter president JC Scott. [applause] >> Okay. It's almost like Mr. Scott was up there. You did a good job, Karen. >> Yes. >> Sorry. It's very frustrating. Extremely frustrating. Good evening, Superintendent Nelson, board members, cabinet, President Scott, Ava members, and audience. First, I want to thank all the Avuda members who came out tonight and those watching online who could not be here in person. What an incredible support system we have. We are a vood. I also want to thank everyone who came out to support certificated staff including our cert our classified colleagues. I know JC would

127have been here if he could have been. He has been an incredible support to me and Avuda and it's deeply appreciated. I have served as this Avuda president for about three and a half years. During that time, I've consistently come to the board meetings and spoken about working collaboratively with the district only to be disappointed time after time by some, though not all. Recently, I read an article in the Daily Press about Victor Valley Union High School District having the best scores in the region. Their superintendent attributed their growth to smaller class sizes, facilities improvements, increased collaboration with associations, and more. In all my years as president, I can remember only one instance in which Avuda was publicly thanked at the board meeting for our participation in district events or for our work on committees.

128The district recently invited JC and me to participate in a retreat aimed at improving relationships. While I believe open honest dialogue is necessary for healing and moving forward, I have to respectfully I had to respectfully decline. We are in the middle of negotiations and we stand there each month in negotiations speaking about the continued expansion of consultant contracts and the ever growing services and other operating expenditures line in the ABUSD budget. With our contracts still unsettled, I cannot in good conscience participate in the retreat while the district continues to invest in consultants instead of solutions that would pro provide a Buddha members with a fair and equity equitable salary increase. I deeply respect JC's decision to decline in solidarity with Abuda. This brings me to consent agenda item nine. approved the agreement with RJ Pal

129consultants incorporated for professional development training. I want to preference this by saying the concerns are not with him. I do not know him as an individual and I do have never heard him speak. My concern is the cost. This proposal asks the district to pay for six 90minute sessions at $3,997 per session. That breaks down to $4441 per minute. My questions are simple and reasonable. Has the district obtain quotes from other consultants who may provide comparable training at a lower cost? Has this district considered using internal staff just as they do when training teachers to train the pair professionals? What is even more concerning is that the signups for this training were already sent out to pair of professionals before this board has even voted on it. That suggests an expectation of yet another rubber

130stamp approval or decisions being made behind closed doors. I find it sad that we do not have enough pair of professionals for our SAI classes or pushing classes, have to go without them many times, but yet we're going to pull them for these trainings. Our sped students deserve better. They deserve to have that extra help needed to help them achieve their goals. I can't imagine their minutes all being met with the stories, calls, and issues that are being brought up in meetings with teachers. It is sad to hear more and more supports continue to be taken away from our students and teachers. Yes, there are great things happening in the district and the teachers and classified staff are huge contributors to that. Can you imagine what this district would be like if we put our

131energy into working collaboratively instead of pushing many away? I cannot even walk into a certain department to conduct business without others getting spoken to because they've helped me or even spoken to me. I look forward to the day we can all work together, give input without criticism, not fear being retaliated against or nonreelected, and have complete transparency. Thank you for your time and solidarity. Karen. [applause] >> All right. Thank you both for your comments. Close session reports. Clerk will read out any action taken in close session. Item eight. [clears throat] In closed session, the board of trustees took action in support of the following recommendation from the superintendent. Item B3, conference on litigation, government code section 54954.5D and 54956.95 Jay Gonzalez vers Apple Valley Unified School District. On a motion by Rick Raleigh, seconded by

132Anita Tucker, the board voted unanimously to deny the claim dated September 30th, 2025 of Juan Carlos Gonzalez. And item B3, conference on litigation, government code section 54954.5D and 54956.95 A Garcia versus ABUSD on a motion by Rick Raleigh, seconded by Maria Akara. The board voted unanimously to deny the claim dated October 13, 2025 of Arlene Garcia. >> Okay. Thank you. Okay, brings us to item nine, adoption of the agenda. The board may approve the agenda as is or add or pull items from consent calendar. Do we have a motion to adopt the agenda? Just an adoption. >> So moved >> Second. Maria Apara. >> Anita Tucker. >> Hi. >> Miss Longshore. >> I >> Maria Aquora. >> I. >> Amanda Buchanan. >> I vote I as well. Okay. We don't have any presentations uh discussion

133item. We'll move on to comments from the public. Kylie, we have some cards. >> Yes, we have uh nine. >> Okay. Okay. Again, we'll try to limit it to We have quite a few here, so we limit it to the three minutes. Um Jennifer Taylor is up first and after Jennifer will be Jeffrey her. Good evening, superintendent, board members, staff, and colleagues. I am here to speak about behavior I have observed between board members. I have personally witnessed a sorry antagonistic behavior between board members as well as directed to union members. It's very clear one board member is particularly um being singled out. Every request presented by this board member at the last regular meeting were denied and this member was has even been accused of bullying. I am troubled troubled by this behavior as

134the board steers the direction of our leaders. As teachers, you require us to put a stop to bullying between students. Yet no one on the board intervened when one of their own was being bullied in a public forum. As a teacher, I tell my students, you don't have to like everyone, but you have to be respectful and civil. You should be setting an example of our core values. How are we as a district supposed to come together and work towards the best for our students and employees if the board member our board cannot behave as a unified front? Please, for the sake of our students, district and community, do better. Thank you. [applause] Jeffrey Warner, not here anymore. Okay. Carlos Calderon. And then after Carlos, it'll be Mr. PE going to put a quick timer

135in my watch real quick. >> That's okay. I got you right there. >> All right. Um, good [clears throat] evening, president, trustees, and superintendent. My name is Carlos R. Calderon, a retired service member and a father of Camila and Carlos Calderon. All right, seventh grade and third grade. Um, do I have any uh veterans in this house today? [applause] Thank you. All right. So, thank you for uh serving your your your your country and um and I just want to say so we moved to Apple Valley to establish our new home. All right. While finalizing while final house our our final housing is pending, my children and I are temporarily um staying with my sibling, my my younger brother. I work within ABSU uh district boundaries. I've spoken to uh Miss Castillo and Mr. Patrick

136about this. Uh, I've denied twice. Denied twice already and I've just spoken to them about what's going on in my situation. I just recently retired. All right. One October and happened to have the government shutdown happened one October. So, I'm still pending my VA. Okay. I spoke to the board members and I spoke to everybody. I have not getting a written request or notice or anything. I'm tired. I'm desperate. And my children need their education ASAP. Two laws apply. first in the federal Mckin Vental homeless act which I talked to Mr. Patrick correct was me you and Mr. to see it and you came up and said that I wasn't allowed because I wasn't a resident of here and I said I I I purchased my house. I'm in escrow. Okay. And I have a

137federal act that I invoked and you still deny me, sir. With Miss Castine. Okay. Students who lack fixed irregular adequate nighttime residents, including those doubling with relatives, must be immediately enrolled even if typical documents are missing, which I I brought everything to Mr. Castillo. I miss M Castillo and Mr. Patrick. They still denied my access to get my children enrolled into the district. Okay. Because then second, under California's Allen Bill Law, education code 48204, because I work inside AV AVUSD, my children qualify as residents for ABSD schools. Yes or no? Yes. It's under your policies. Okay. So, my request specific is enroll my daughter. Okay. It's already almost 9:00 and I'm desperate. I'm here to talk to the public and I'm talking to the board members. Please. All right. As a new resident of the

138high desert, this is very wrong that you what you guys are doing. As a new member of the community, seeing from the outside looking in, this is my first time here and this is this is disgraceful what you guys are doing to the community and to our children. So, what I want and what I need today is provide the district McKini I I want to invoke the McKini Vento leazison to meet with me which I know is Miss Castillo. Yes or no Patrick? So, if the district still refuses, give me a right ar decision tonight to state the reason and dispute in my complaint in the process. I brought with a one-page packet with all the documents required to get my children enrolled into school tonight so they could start participating tomorrow where they belong.

139Thank you, [applause] [cheering] >> Superintendent Nelson. Could we get um just uh like maybe an email update about like what the process is and where Mr. Caleron is at? Thank you. >> Mr. Peak, you're up. And then uh Terry, you're next. Nice to see you all once again, members of the board. Superintendent Nelson. Um, this is my fourth my fourth time being here and I'm kind of being known as the kid who speaks at the board meets and I have to admit it's kind of cool being a celebrity since the last time I was a celebrity. I was a banana at a Green Day concert. So now all I got to do is try to get my teachers on board with extra credit for what I'm trying to accomplish here, especially you English. Uh, tonight

140I want to bring to you some further research and data I've worked hard to get this uh this last month. I reached out to many neighboring and not so close but still successful school districts that obey the law SB 328. I asked each school personnel a le a list of same or similar questions. I will share my questions and answers received. I spoke with assistant superintendent Dr. Yei from Victor Valley Union High School District. She kind of answered on the fly and didn't have an exact set of measurable data, but was honest in answering my questions based on word of mouth and experience. She admitted that later start times allowed them to begin to implement programs that have drastically cut down on early morning tardies and absenteeism. I asked, "Has there been a decline or

141change in morning incidents, traffic violations, or accidents?" And she said, "There has been a lot less suspensions since later start times." So, hey, that's still pretty good. Um, Dr. Yei said there had really been no effect on extracurriculars or sports. The only real concern they've had is safety for students, especially this time of year since it's dark. And I mean this in the nicest way possible. This is Victorville. So that's probably why their um concern for this was maybe heightened. The main drawback that she had was busing is an expense and she wish that uh Governor Gavin Newsome had thought about that while helping uh school districts with when he passed this law. However, speaking with teachers in San Bernardino City Unified School District at Kahon High School and Indian Springs High School, both of

142which are accredited international balorate high schools have had wonderful success implementing an 8:30 start time in accordance with the law. Morning tardies are down as well as absenteeism. Student morale and mental health is optimal and while there is really no data to reflect less accidents or traffic violations, traffic getting to school has been noticeably alleviated. Sports are thriving, often going to CIF. One teacher from Indian Springs High School said, "Any high school not accommodating high school students with later start times is insane." There's such a difference in these districts students since changing the high school start times. I've also talked to Orange County schools and plan to reach out to Lucern and Baker Unified, all of whom who do have later start times. I will forward their data as soon as I get it. And

143I know I've been a little bit lengthy tonight, but I want to leave you with one final thing. While concluding my conversation with Dr. Yei, she said she's an early riser, so getting up early doesn't really bother her, but she does support an 8 to 8:30 start time. Then she mentioned she doesn't know why a district like ABUSD would not go along with a change like this since they have the resources, which makes me think, does she know something that I don't? Why would she say something like this? Thank you and good night. >> [applause] >> to repeat. >> That'd be me. Just for the record. >> Greetings, esteemed board, President Raleigh, Superintendent Nelson, and all those watching, and those of you still here, this is a great for change. I always come here in

144support 100% for Kian and his agenda to change the high school start times. I am beyond proud of his consistency and drive. Can you tell he's the youngest of five driven to be noticed and live life his way? This month, although my topic for public comments very much coincides with Kian's motive, I'd like to question Granite Hills High School and perhaps bring awareness to a newly implemented tardy sweep and consequences. In December 2023, new traffic direction and allowed entrance access was changed and has been an absolute crap show since. I'd like to point out that I censored myself there. I have gone round and round and round and round with admin at the school, teachers, and the district regarding the issues, especially tardies and student safety that this has caused. I have not been heard

145or considered in any instance. There is a literal one way in, one way out. That's it for getting students to class. Unless, of course, you dare to take your chances with the demolition speedway through the dirt fields. There are no crossing guards in the streets protecting the students. If you take your chances and go through the student drop off line, which there is no other choice to get through if you want to park in the student parking lot, yet staff seems to be able to park anywhere. All but one entrance to the A building is closed to the students to access their classes. Getting through the student lot is a death maze in itself because everyone's in a hurry. I have counted many, many times at least 50 to 100 cars still waiting to get

146in the parking lot between 6:58 and 700 a.m. when school starts at 7:01. This is where I imagine a generous number of tardies are coming from. I have brought this to the brought to the table many suggestions. They complain that tardies take up valuable class time. Yet, first thing in the morning, it takes 10 to 15 minutes just to stand in line and get a tardy slip when most students could just hustle the class being 1 to four minutes late and marked tardy instead of 12 to 18 minutes with a piece of paper saying that they were tardy. The only real response I ever received was from you, Mr. Sloer, and that was in March in 2024 when you said, "Be patient. Give it time to work itself out." It in it in fact has

147not worked itself out. This school has transparency and accountability issues with many of its staff being untrustworthy and leaving little faith to me as a parent with a student there. It hasn't done me any good to contact teachers, administration, or the district office about any concerns my family has had there. I recently raised many of these concerns and more a few months ago at a board meeting. I've spoke spoken with Miss Wells with clear questions requesting answers. The air has been radio silent since. My family has gone above and beyond for more than 20 years to make this school district and the schools we've attended within the best within it the best we possibly can. I've spoken of the accomplished list I have on record. Yet still no answers, still no clarity, still no feeling

148of safety or acknowledgement where my family is concerned. I'm hoping that someone on a deeper level will look at my concerns and get real direction, answers, and assurance for change for not only my student, but for the futures to come. As I leave here tonight, I feel bad in saying I'm glad we only have one left, one year left to endure this school district and this school. Thank you for your time. Good night. [applause] Up uh next is Eva Beavers. Eva, you here? There she is. And then after Eva will be Stephen Cops. >> Okay. So, you will have to forgive me as I have a mask on. I'm not trying to get cooties everywhere. Okay. But um I wanted to address the board because I am a parent to special needs children. And I

149want to question why there is not some sort of settlement to resolve the request for competitive pay for our teachers. As I have been blessed as a stay-at-home mom to have been approved by the district to volunteer at my [clears throat] children's school. I take pride in being able to witness firsthand how the dedicated teachers are about providing education to our future community. They are requesting competitive pay and deserve to make such a request since you the board have maybe never been in or it has been some time since you have ever stepped in a classroom to partake in or have knowledge of what it takes to provide an adequate education to our future teachers, engineers, firefighters, cosmetologists, or even labor workers or possibly even the first female president of the United States. So, we

150need to pay accordingly since our teachers go through so much such as getting things thrown at them, sometimes getting screamed at for no reason, yet expected to meet such high demands at a very low rate of pay. I would like to request more PARA educators for the special ed classrooms throughout the school districts as more support would be beneficial. I had the opportunity to speak with the members of the board and I was told that the federal funding for special ed classes that was promised has not been received, but I would like to see the proof of that. As a light has been shined on the district for fraud or budget expenditures have been called into question. Why can't the board members sacrifice some of their pay to provide a competitive pay for our teachers?

151As Apple Valley is a bigger community than Lassern Valley, yet the teachers over there get paid more than our teachers here. How does that make sense? Um during your comments in C-6, if I'm saying that correctly, it was said that coming from or coming from being a teacher to support a teacher, I find that to be inhumane. There was also mention of millions of dollars, yet there's still no answers. It was said to have patience with the board, yet there's still no accountability. We don't need to lose our dedicated teachers. I'm asking the community to support the teachers and staff because we need them for our children. Thank you. Have a good night. [applause] >> Stephen, and then after Mr. Cox will be Adrien Forks. >> Well, welcome again. Thanks for letting us speak. Um

152I stand a little bit just kind of disappointed in uh watching um tonight um when we're being asked to be patient and I feel like we have been patient for quite a while. Um we were told at the last meeting that no votes would happen unless something moved with teachers and yet I'm sure we're going to see votes again tonight moving forward. We have asked for documents the same documents that you guys were talking about about who was hired with onetime money. We haven't got an answer yet um that I know of. So, we've asked for information. The information that we do get seems to come in waves. Uh it's not always accurate. And so, uh so the patience, I think, is has run out. Normally, I was telling people that I think what happens

153is about in this time in negotiations, it seems like the district is thinking that we're going to just kind of fold and and we're done. I think you saw tonight the resolve is there. Um, it's getting it's getting heavier and heavier. We had more people this time than last time. And uh I'll be in my classroom, I'm sure, tomorrow morning early. I go an hour early every day. Um, it's just what I do. Um, this week I've been broke up a fight, got hit a few times. Um, smelled a few things in my classroom that I shouldn't have to smell uh in a classroom. um got told f off u this week and that's just in a normal week all with uh the be patient uh be patient's not uh not one of those things

154that I think is there we sit back and we do I heard it said that um just watching sometimes with the board itself of being able to have the courtesy to each other to listen to each other and I don't even think I see that um and that goes on up here but yet we're being told to be patient to keep going but we don't have any answers yet. So, um I'm I'm in a loss. I really am trying to lead this as a lead negotiator, but hitting walls at every So, I don't know what the end of this going to be, but I can see that in my department, if there was openings in another district, I'd probably lose half the department right now. They're already talking about it. There's just nowhere to go

155right now because they've already taken all of our teachers and so there's just none. So when the other districts open new schools, we're going to be in a world of hurt unless we actually It sounds like the money's there. We're trying to find money. Money's there, but it's just a matter of are we going to make priorities teachers, counselors, and those that are on the hard lines with the students. Again, I'll be there tomorrow morning early like I always do because I love my students. But I'm honest tonight. I'm not sure I can say I love my district. And that hurts me to say that. Thank you, [applause] Adrian. >> And then uh Gabriel, >> good evening. >> Go ahead. I'm sorry, ma'am. >> Sorry. Good evening, President Karen Sabres of Avida, JC Scott, president

156of CSA for Apple Valley Unified, who is proudly representing CSA at the state level, but watching live right now, board of trustees and superintendent Nelson. My name is Adrienne Forbes. I am the vice president of Avuda and second grade teacher at Rancho Birdie Elementary. I feel that it is time for me to stand up and speak for what is right and what I have been watching at our school board meetings. I've sat in the audience for the last four years and watched the school board approved budgets that they clearly have not been fully informed about. So much so that they feel that they have debured a new trustee because she is finally questioning the people that she had have been questioning the district who should have had the answers. Not sure if the other trustees

157feel guilty for not asking the important questions from the last few years, but maybe they feel culpable by being misled by the superintendents that work for them. Something smells fishy when trustees starts turn start turning on one another publicly. Unfortunately for our district, that is one of the many problems at hand. So, how can we expect our students to do the right thing when the trustees can't do it? Because the parents and the students are watching the behavior that the adults in charge are demonstrating. How we can trust our district and school board when they vote for compensation agreements that happen 11:30 p.m. at night when all the people that would have questioned them and held them accountable but had to leave because they have families and have to teach the next day. Our teachers

158in the district are exhausted with the administration directing the trustees to rubber stamp the budgets that are set in front of them. Our students and families deserve better. I would like to explain to you what my passion is, which required me to get into great debt to be a teacher. I am a highly qualified second grade teacher with a bachelor's degree in early child education and a master's degree in curriculum and education with a minor in steam and technology leadership. I explain my degree so you can understand what my education background is before I go into the jobs that I perform daily. I teach up to five different academic subjects a day to 22 8-year-olds. On Wednesdays, I teach up to 98-year-olds the basic principles of coding, which is something that the students will be

159used to for many different career paths in their future, which also includes up to an hour or more of grading a day. I am a problem solver, a social emotional counselor, owi fixer, nourisher, protector, disciplinarian, parent communicator, esteemed teacher after school, and on the side for school, I am our school's spelling be coordinator for the fourth year in a row, as well as wear many other hats. My weekends consist of grading in the evenings, during the week, and on my days off, which means I do not get weekends off. I go to work at 7 in the morning and every other day I leave at 5:00 p.m. I work 54 hours a week at my pay rate which equates to $8 more an hour than food service workers in the state of California. If I

160was teaching in Hisparian pay rate my pay rate I would be making $16 more an hour than a food service worker if I was paid hourly. Let's be real. I am underestimating my time calculating because it's quite more. You see, we aren't looking for the best competitive pay in the high desert. We just need a fair livable wage that you had no problem offering to the other associations to pay our teachers a fair livable wage. It would attract specialists in steam, special education, bilingual, and encourage long-term career commitment. Better compensation, enable schools to hire and keep higher caliber educators, which correlates with higher student achievement, lower absenteeism, and stronger classroom management. We are also asking for accountability for the situation our district is in. We as teachers do not want to be in the situation

161next year and the year after. As you well know, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Please end this saga and come to the table with a reasonable offer that compensates your beloved teachers and remove the reasons for them to leave. Because we as a district spend far too much on induction support for brand new teachers that only benefits other districts when our brand new teachers leave because they realize they could be making 10,000 more a year 20 minutes away. That money can be better used elsewhere. Thank you for your time. >> [applause] >> Gabriel through >> Good evening. My name is Gabriel Murz. I'm coming to you as a concerned parent. Um, I don't know any of you or enough about the situation to speak completely intelligently

162on it. I don't mean to come off condescending or disrespectful in any way, so please don't take it as that, but it does uh upset me to hear some of the things that I've heard tonight and read what I've read in the articles. There's got to be a better way of doing business. I don't know what that is or what it entails. That's for you guys and the teachers to figure out, but we got to come to the table and figure something out. It's very concerning to hear these things when I got three of my children in your school district. And I expect them to have the best teachers, the best everything. And that should be your legacy and what you guys leave behind to these students. And if that means adjusting course and doing

163something different uh uh maybe even changing your culture uh to how you address these issues, maybe that's what's needed. I don't know. Uh I work as a correctional counselor. I've been doing corrections for 20 years. And I empathize with what the teachers are going through because we're going through the exact same thing. We've been asked to do more with less and dangerous hostile conditions for so long. It's become our culture now. It's what's expected. Oh, that's just your job. No, dude. That's not cool. I mean, I'm good at what I do and we're successful at making a prison run uh uh the right way, but that's in spite of our management, not because of them. There's a difference. And they got that confused. They're okay with writing off our talents, our knowledge, and you know

164uh uh our ability to get our job done with with uh falling behind our wages. Also, like uh in my profession too, our wages have grown stagnant. Our benefits have grown stagnant. Uh I got a good slogan that I came up with at work a few months ago. Money talks and good officers walk. And that's what's been happening to us too. And you know, I'm tempted to leave too myself, but I'm kind of so close to retirement. I got to stick this out. And that's an unfair position for me to have to be in for all the time and sacrifice that I put in. You know, to have to go through that and then hear about our teachers going through that. Hey, I have my talents when it comes to corrections and law enforcement. You

165could put a tattoo murder in front of me and I'll confront them over something as petty as tucking in a shirt and stand on business. That's what I do as profession. But I will take a side door to these guys. What they do with the most precious thing to my life, man, they deserve more pay than I get. I'll give them more credit than I I'll take any day of the week. And we should be doing all we can to support them and make sure we have their back. And if that means sacrificing some uh pay at the top, uh uh some positions at the top to funnel it down to make sure they're at least competitive. If I heard them crying for, you know, the highest pay, I'd be like, "Come on, guys. Knock

166that off." But they're just asking for competitive wages. That shouldn't be too much to ask. We just passed a measure in the town of Alpa Valley earlier uh last year to add to our our taxes for more law enforcement and more firefighters. uh should we even asking for teachers pay because I wasn't aware that was an issue until recently. So I served in the United States Navy. I did two deployments on my ship. Our ship slogan was there's always a better way of doing business and I would submit that to you now. However we've been doing things I don't know what that is. I like to speak intelligently but it's got to be a better way of doing business. Thank you. [applause] >> Okay. Hey, that takes care of public comments. We can go back

167to board member comments. Uh, Anita Tucker. >> Thank you. >> I'm sorry. Nothing. Okay. Okay. Renee, >> um I just want to echo the appreciation um that Trusty Tucker shared. Um all of you showing up and being a part of this process and um being a voice is just so very important. So I want to encourage you all um to continue to show up and and speak to us because um we are listening. >> Maria, >> no comments. Amanda, >> I don't have >> I don't either. Uh, superintendent. Okay. Public hearing. Conduct public hearing. Receive comments on the annual 5-year statutory school fee report. Matthew Schulenberg. >> Oh, yeah. I'm sorry. I now open the public hearing to receive comments on the annual and fiveyear statutory school fee report. time open to >> Oh, thank

168you. >> I don't have any comments for the report, Mr. Braley. Unless anybody has any questions, I think we need to keep it open for a minimum of of a minute to give the public the chance to comment. >> Okay, sounds good. [snorts] [clears throat] All right, I think that uh time is up for that. So, we have any comments or questions? Um we can close the um public hearing and time closed at 9:09. Moves us to item H, special meeting, none at this meeting. Discussion item session is recommended the board of trustees discuss and take action on the following items. Approve the agreement with CSBA for access to board self-evaluation survey BS and that will be for through a motion through a motion to approve item >> a move >> moved by second by

169>> Tucker >> Miss Tucker. Okay, we'll do a roll call vote. Um, Anita Tucker, >> I. >> Renee Longshaw, >> I. >> Maria Akbara, >> I. >> Amanda Buchanan, >> I vote I as well. >> Okay. Item two, approve the renewal of the Mountain Desert Career Pathway Joint Powers Agreement, MDCP JAPA. >> So moved. >> We have a motion through um Buchanan. And I had a second there by Tucker. Okay, roll call will be Anita Tucker. >> I, >> Renee Longshaw, >> I. >> Maria Aquara, >> I. >> Amanda Buchanan, >> I vote I as well. Item three, approve the certificate and classified personal actions as listed. Do I have a motion? >> So moved. >> Motion Buchanan and I'll second it. And rolling. And um Anita Tucker. >> Hi. Renee Longshore. >> Um I

170just wanted to point out that we have one additional FTE uh for the total of 60 new hires for the 2526 school year. Um and I >> you vote I Okay. Maria Okara >> I. >> Amanda Buchanan >> I vote I as well. Item four, approve the recommendation request to leave as noted. I'll move the item. >> I'll second. >> Second. Um, Buchanan, >> Anita Tucker, >> I, >> Renee Longshaw, >> I, >> Maria Opara, >> I, >> Amanda Buchanan, >> I vote I as well. Item five, approve recommendation of the administrative hearing, chairperson effected immediately on exp 42526 and AR7202526. So, >> so moved. >> Second. >> We have a motion. U B U B U B U B U B U B U B U B U B U Buchanan >> Maria >>

171Second Opara. >> Anita [clears throat] Longore. >> I mean, I'm really getting tired here. Anita Tucker. >> I >> Renee Longore. >> I >> Maria Okara. >> I >> Amanda Buchanan. >> I vote I as well. Okay. Annual review case AR7202526. You already added. >> Oh, I did them. That's right. We did them together. Okay. Approve the adoption and implementation of the student information system SCIS from focus. We're going to have a presentation real quick from >> just briefly. Yes. Just because this is an item of such great consequence to our system, I wanted to just give some background before the board took action here. >> Thank you. Okay. Okay. >> And so, um, I'm thankful I don't even have to set up the presentation. someone else is doing that for me and we have

172such a great team here doing that. And I'll just mention that um this particular change is not coming to us at the time necessarily of our choosing because of some um items that are coming through and a change that's coming from our current student information system. However, thankfully the process has been of our choosing. So I'm um going to introduce Mr. Buchanan, but he and his team and really a team of almost a couple of hundred uh teachers, uh clerical staff, um really anyone who's going to be interacting with the student information system were involved in this in some way. And so they really built a great process to go through and and make this um a process of our choosing. And um we're excited about this. We're not making a change to a system

173this big is a lot of work, but we're excited because we feel like this has got good um uh energy from those who made the decision, which was our staff. And so I'll I'll uh introduce Mr. Buchanan to kind of walk us through where where we are, where we're headed, and kind of give you some background on this decision that we're proposing or putting in front of you tonight. >> Good evening. Um, and as Mr. Slasher pointed out, I'm Jason Buchanan, director of IT for Apple Valley Unified School District, and I'm here to give you some more context as to this board item for approving um, asking you to approve the purchase of focus implementation system. Um, a couple of years ago, Aries informed us, our current SIS, who we've used for over 20 years,

174informed us that they were making some changes that would go into effects this next June or July 2026. Um, one of those changes is increase in cost about $50,000 per year. Also, we have to we'll lose some functionality that we currently rely on the ability to um sandbox to stage our own um patching. And so those con those changes con caused us to think whether or not Ari areas was continuing to be the best solution for Apple Valley Unified. So we decided to ask the system. We started a process to review um what we want out of an SIS and we invited um a couple years ago we invited over 137 staff to participate in a discussion about whether we should consider switching. And out of that discussion, there was an agreement that we should

175at least look to see what's in the market since it's changing. Let's see what's going on out in the world. We gathered the res recommendations from that committee about who should participate in further discussions. We had 89 staff participate in various focus groups to develop the criteria we used to build an RFP. And this last August, we published the RFP. Um and on October 3rd we received seven responses. The technology data team reviewed those responses and um scored them. Those score sheets are attached to the board item for your review. And we looked at the scores and we invited focus and edgypoint softwares to come and present a full-on demonstration of the scenarios we asked them to look at. We um sorry I'm at that point in my life where I have to take my

176glass off to read my screen, but now I can't see you. So [laughter] um the scoring included the scoring of that sheet is also in your board packet as the SIS evaluation section score sheet um of that. So when we invited all the each each participant was asked to consider how this would relate to Aries. Aries is our system and we don't want to just switch on a whim. So they were expect so we asked them to review it in consideration of how it compares to Aries and also score it and out of that we had 40 so we got those score sheets and out of that last two Fridays ago we had 45 staff members meet in a committee and discuss the review sheets and the scenario scores and provide their the cost analysis

177and provide their feedback and so that feedback as you can see through the charts there and this was included in the packet. The first question is a really important one and that is even though we only had two vendors there, there's really a third vendor in the room. That's our current system. The new system was just going to cost more and lose functionality, but they were promising they would give no feature upgrades. So, we understood exactly what we were going to have if we stayed with Aries. But one thing we would have is no sort of implementation costs, right? There would be no like the pressure of changing and the the requirement for new learning for a system that's so important to everything we do. and of course reporting to the state. And so that

178was one consideration. And so the first question they had to wrestle with is should we go ahead and go forward with this kind of costly thing from the point of view of time and energy? Should we move from Aries to one of these new programs? And there was an overwhelming yes. And so um I'm going to ask a couple others to kind of speak either in person or by proxy about after that yes came in and then it was a discussion of whether it should be edupoint or focus. And so, um, taking a look at the responses there and the overwhelming choice was focus. But we'll I'm going to ask Mr. Heldrith from Granite Hills High School math teacher to who has been engaged in this process to talk about his point of view for

179why that tool. >> Hi. Yes. Andrew Hilddrth, uh, Granite Hills High School. Um, I'm also part of our DLS team, which is the D digital learning specialists. So, every school site has uh specialists that help out teachers um with software problems or with setting up grade books. So, we're more familiar with a lot of the problems that face teachers on a daily basis. um Aries. Uh when we first had our meeting and we were talking about Aries when we sat in the district was very like if we choose to spend uh in our time to switch away from Aries and if you guys did do decide to do this and we basically just raised our hand and said you keep saying if everybody here says when because Aries is pretty much a nightmare. Um, if

180you are a teacher, you know that you basically just survive with Aries. It's very minimal functionality. And so switching at the very least just gives us the exact same functionality at a drastically reduced price. But sitting through the presentations, it showed how many things we were missing out on. Um, one of the main things is we have many different tabs that we have to open up different programs. If you want to go to parent square, you click on an Aries, it opens up the parent square. Then sometimes it logs you in, but most of the time you have to relog in. Uh, and then you have to figure out, okay, what group are you going to send it to? Select those students and then you send it out. That's just one process to send one

181message to one student or one group of your your students. with focus, it's all within that one system, all within two clicks away. So, it it streamlines all of our processes. um the positive interventions that our K all the way to 12 grade which our high schools try to implement through FiveStar. It's a struggle because of getting access to FiveStar and it's a separate program that sites pay for or other programs that they pay for that's built into Focus. So that's a cost savings right there as well and convenience for the teacher. Um, another uh great benefit to this is, and I've seen it in our group chats recently, grade books. So, if any K five, K6 teachers that are trying to do your grades right now, I've seen all of your cries for help.

182I mean, I'm a high school, so like I don't have to deal with that as much, but it is uh a very arduous ordeal for our K6 teachers to do the uh standardsbased grading with Aries. With focus, that is not the case. It's seamless and builtin. So, uh it's it will make all of the educators lives much better. Uh the only con the only con that I can see as an educator is now you just have to learn this system but we ask our students every single day to learn something new. The least we could do is learn this one thing. So and it's a benefit to the students as well because it simplifies their access to the teachers assignments as well. So >> that's great and so glad to hear that that this process

183feels worth it to teachers and that that seems like something that if they're going to put in this kind of work, it's going to make their day-to-day lives better. And then just a quick note from Ana Chisum, who's the office manager at Phoenix Academy and just a really wellrespected clerical staff member. She said in short, it simplifies parent communication, easier access to reports, streamlines attendance, and um she's quite quite artfully says focus offers more modern, efficient features that support both staff and parents. While Aries has served us well over the years, it hasn't kept up with the evolving needs of school campuses. That's nicely said. It's maybe a little more strong than that, but she's such a um a thoughtful communicator. But focus has the tools to work smarter not harder and so that gives

184us some confidence that was this was a decision that the team felt comfortable with and so we'll talk now about implementation steps >> and thank you the like um I said earlier 45 members showed up to have the discussion about the scores and looking at the systems and so they made the decision they were critical in making that decision and so we feel comfortable bringing that forward and I wanted to say thank you to everyone who did partic participate because without their input, we wouldn't I wouldn't feel comfortable bringing item board forward. Um, and if the board does approve this purchase, then we will immediately get to work with um focus system to work with their implementation team to get started. I put up a short time uh a simple time line that gives some

185key dates. Um we would immediately start developing a scope devel um identifying key stakeholders um process owners um get staff training started right away um all with the intent of a live go live date of August 6. We have that cost deadline with Aries. So we have a few you know we have quite not we have a quick timeline in which to get it done. Um, and so we work on that. And I also wanted to bring up some key considerations as we think about a switch shift like this. I put up a graph that's a standard graph in the industry. It's a technology adoption curve. And right now, as you heard, there's a lot of potential excitement if the board approves this for moving forward. That's we're headed up that curve getting to the

186peak. And as we start with train um training and people start getting to use it, they'll get excited because they'll be able to see what it can do. And then the first day of school will come and uh office aid will be sitting there and there's kids lined up at the desk. There's parents calling. There's three requests from the principal and they're going to say, "Who's idea was this?" Um and so we'll hit this tro of disillusionment and that's normal if we work through it. Um, our team, my team is a I have a great data team. Um, with the support of the district and the staff and my team, I'm confident we can get this done. Um, and with and if the board approves this, we'll be prepared to allocate for staff training um,

187both on-site and off-site. And we'll be prepared with our communication plan to make sure everyone knows where we are in the status, keeping everybody up to date with the look where we are in the progress. um they'll know what is happening, what we're doing, what's coming next, and where they can get help. Um thank you for your time. I want to keep it as short as I can. Um we ask you to consider a recommendation to transition to the focus SIS and please let me know if you have any questions. >> Any questions from any board members? >> I do. >> Need I mean? >> Yes. Um, I'm just [clears throat] wondering will focus talk to Aries or are you guys going to have to manually input everything like say assertive discipline or visitation tabs

188like is that going to move over? Yes, part of the implementation process would be in fact um Rachel who's our data analyst will be imple instrumental in that is actually transitioning and moving um all of our data back at least till 2009 from Aries into the new system. So that data will come across um there will be a lot of work in that because there's clean up code changes that kind of stuff but the proc the pro the it's built into our cost for this implementation to move that data into into focus so we won't lose any of the existing data. >> Okay. Thank you. >> We're good. I think we're good. So um I'll make the motion to approve. >> I'm sorry. Did you have a question? >> No. I'll make a motion that

189we approve the um impleation implementation of the student information system. >> So moved. >> We have a second. >> Anita. >> He already. >> Oh, okay. I'm going to go ahead and do a roll call or um vote here. Um Anita Tucker. >> I Renee Long >> I. >> Maria >> I. >> Amanda >> I vote I as well. Thank you gentlemen for the um we passed it for you. >> Okay. Item seven, approve the [applause] approve the Apple Valley Unified School District annual and fiveyear statutory school fee report for 25 I correct correction 2024 25. Any uh we have a motion discussion. Uh, so moved. >> Second. Anita. Anita. Vote. I >> Renee. >> I. >> Maria. >> I. >> Amanda. >> I vote I as well. >> We're moving right through here. Eight.

190Approve the 2526 budget revisions for July 20 1st, 2025 through September 30th, 2025. I'll move it. We have a second. >> Uh I'll second it. >> President Raleigh. Uh before the board takes the vote, um I do have some additional information to support the document that was attached. Um if uh the board would like to see I do have some slides to share and each of you have a copy of that uh slide deck at your at your uh table. >> Okay. >> Any questions, discussion? Okay. >> Um, well, I'm just wondering is he presenting it and then >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Just grabbing the screen. >> So, um, as the FickMat report has been mentioned several times, one of the things was the talk of uh, budget revisions. Uh, the document that's attached

191to the board agenda, the budget financial report is a document we brought to the board very regularly over many years I've been in the uh, business office. It illustrates the cumulative effect of the both revenue and expenditure budget transfers for certain reporting periods. Um the document attached in the board agenda is a combined fund 01 um cumulative budget revisions um both revenue and expenditure for the period of July 1, 2025 through September 30th, 2025. So it's our first three months. Um the next step will be financials through October 31st which is first interim um which will be presented at the um December meeting um as our first interim report. So some revenue detail and some explanation as to the adjustments. You'll see the uh page in your document includes I've highlighted or actually my uh

192executive assistant who's an expert in Adobe PDF highlighted for me um 8290 all other federal revenues. You'll see the adopted budget was 8,995,19 and the revised budget is a little under well like 11 and a half. So a upward adjustment of about $2.8 million in revenue. So to offer some specifics on the all other federal revenue line, it lumps lots of resources together, several resources. Um, one resource being unrestricted, that's 0000. Our adopted budget had only uh the assumption we were going to receive about $80,000. However, we received um $828,000 of federal funding, which flows to us unrestricted that was unknown at budget adoption. Hence to align the budget and reflect all the revenue we're receiving or planning to receive, we make a revision. So that particularly resource was aligned to the tune of $748,07

193to match what we received in -ate that was unknown at budget adoption. In title one, at budget adoption, we had a $7 million assumption of receiving title one revenue. Um, believe it or not, there's some turmoil at the feds. Um, and the Fed has changing how they're allocating dollars. Um, they allocate Title One to the state. The state keeps their share. They pass the rest to school districts. It changes. It evolves through budget adoption, through the federal budget, through all the different timelines we deal with. So that align statement there of reducing $414,54 that was just that we had to reduce the 7 million to reflect an updated estimate of our title one allocation from the state of California. However, you'll see carryover. We did have revenue last year that was originally budgeted in Title

194One. Um, but as Title One is an unearned revenue program, meaning you don't get the revenue unless you spend it. So, we did not spend all of the available Title One funding last year. So, that revenue 1.7 million and change carries over into the current fiscal year now as available revenue to spend in our Title One programs. So we started at 7 million but with that alignment based on our um based on new information our current year allocation reduced carryover coming and increasing it nets to about 8.3 million available revenue in title one. Now, as we go through the year and we get to the end of the year and unodudited actuals, if we don't spend all 8.3 million of available revenue, you'll see the revenue in from estimated actuals to unodudited actuals will actually

195reduce in title one because we can only book revenue balanced with our expenditures. any of the remaining revenue that's available in this year now any of that 8.3 million that's not spent will carry over into next year and be available to spend next year same situation in 3182 that SSI money again we adopt um we adopted what we believed we were going to get based on the information we received we have to align we had some carryover again an unearned revenue program 3550 Perkins we adopted we aligned based on new information um to uh per to uh more accurately reflect available revenues. Uh 4035 title 2, we have not made any revisions in that particular revenue. Um I know title two is one of the revenues that Governor Trump proposed to eliminate um in the

196upcoming federal budget cycle. So that would affect us. >> Um title four um you'll see an alignment and again carry over in our title four just like the scenario in title one. It's an unearned revenue program. Title three immigrant um albeit a small amount but money to support. And then title three again an alignment to reflect uh revised budget allocation for the current year and carryover unearned revenue. 8590 if we go back to I'm sorry I'm going to click around a little bit. We go back to that 8590 all other state revenues you'll see went from 33.7 to 37.4 million. So it's an upward adjustment. um some detail on that. Uh in resource zero, which is unrestricted, we adopted assumptions about $6.3 million in unrestricted state revenue. Now, there were a couple pieces in that.

197First off was the discretionary block grant in the current fiscal year, which is a one-time block grant. It was not assigned a SAX resource code at this point. So, we booked that revenue in um unrestricted. However, it is now um you'll see in first interim it is not in resource zero. It is now in its own resource number as the state has assigned a SAX resource code to it. Um so we have to move it to the appropriate SAX resource code and [snorts] the alignment uh was to adjust our original assumption down about 113 what we're actually receiving. The budget there is actually our hometoschool transportation reimbursement. Uh there's a worksheet that the CDE works up and they uh provide us a reimbursement over it's not over and above um any transportation expenditures. It's our

198transportation expenditures minus our transportation add-on in the LCFF. And I believe they they reimburse us about 60% of our remaining expenditures. So we found out we were getting a little more than we had initially initially assumed. So but again that resource zero is going to be much different at first interim because that discretionary block ant revenue was moved out of that resource number into its own resource. And there you'll see ELOP um 13.7 small adjustment uh UTK planning. This is where we assumed we were going to get an allocation of $300,000. Well, that was an incorrect assumption, but we did have $431,000 of carryover in unspent UTK planning funds. Hence, the alignment eliminating the assumption of additional allocation. But the carryover being posted again, much like the Title One program, it's an unearned revenue program,

199but that money will expire um here here very soon. 6332 Community Schools. Um you'll see we budgeted $10,212,500 based on the spreadsheet that the state had uh released. Uh staff budgeted the entire amount which um unfortunately when we received the GAN was not how that money is flowing. So we aligned that particular budget to reflect the 2.1 million of available revenue in the current fiscal year. California Partnershipmies, uh, uh, CTE incentive grant, K12 strong workforce. Again, those are all unearned revenue programs. So, we have carryover revenue, um, to post to make those adjustments. And then Prop 28, aligning our allocation, uh, partnership academy, and then stirs on behalf. A little bit about stirs on behalf. Uh the state of California requires us to book revenue and expense on our books based on the state's contribution

200to stirrers on behalf of Apple Valley Unified School District. So essentially what happens is we have to book $8 million of revenue. It's not revenue for us to spend. It's it's revenue that flows out. Um it's an in-n-out. It's a net zero on our budget. It's basically on our books to reflect what the state pays to Stirs on behalf of Apple Valley Unified Stirs members. On the expenditure side, the first one I want to highlight, you'll see down there 4310 instruction materials. You'll see quite a significant adjustment between adopted um to revised about $10 million. So, some detail on that. The first two resources there listed are 00 LCFF and 1100 lottery. Those are the only two resources um in that particular expenditure line that are unrestricted available for expenditures. You'll see at first the

2011 point about 1.2 million under resource zero. We aligned that and that is really school site discretionary funds. And the align is because this is 4310. This is one expenditure line amongst the entire 4,000s. I'm sorry. The entire instructional materials or the the in books and supplies the 4,000s. Well, sites also can spend in uh certificated salaries, classified salaries, benefits. Um so this is just one expenditure line. So that's the cumulative effect of site um site discretionary budgets adjusting taking money from somewhere else in their budget putting it on the 4310 instructional material line. the 1100 lottery. Some of that is site money. However, you'll see there uh the asterric that 1.286 million of the 1.352 million of alignment that is district held lottery funds. Those district- held lottery funds to the tune of 1.3

202million are now they're no longer in 4310 as they've been moved to another expenditure line because they are dedicated to a Chromebook refresh and teacher um teacher uh teacher computer teacher device refreshes. So the restricted resources are the lion's share of the adjustments in the 4310 and that is a sum of all the restricted resources. So when we go back a page you'll see it was about uh 10.8 [clears throat and snorts] million in revisions those that 10.8 million is the alignment for LCFF the alignment for lottery and the alignment and carryover in restricted resources. That's the net total. some detail on the restricted side. You'll see ELOP and I lump that together, the aligned carryover and indirect cost because some of that is it's site budgets being aligned. It's district budgets being aligned to

203expenditures. Um carryover is ELOP that was not spent last year. That is a fund balance program. So there's no carryover revenue, but we post carryover expenditures to make all available ELOP funds available to be spent. Um at this point in the year the indirect cost is a actual it's an expense in ELOP as we capture indirect costs. I believe that was one of the items the the FICMAT also mentioned is to capture the maximum indirect costs from restricted programs. So we're budgeting that as an expense on the ELOP side which actually is a a revenue on the unrestricted side of the budget. Uh similar situation for title one. We adopted 919,000 of expenditures on this particular line through sites and district aligning expenditures carryover. And a little bit about that carryover. If you recall, title

204one is an unearned revenue program. So when we post that carryover revenue in this year, the revenue that was not spent last that particular program and unear and all unearned revenue programs in the budget must balance. So, if we're budgeting $8.3 million of revenue in title one, we have to budget $ 8.3 million of expenditures in title one because if we didn't, and Cindy tried to run our sax forms at first interim, we would get a TRC. If you recall, Fickmatt mentioned those, those are technical review checks. Those are errors that must be cleared in the SAX documents before we can complete it. So what we've done and what we did this year um at this point as of September 30th the majority of the Title One expenditures are budgeted in 4310 either at the

205site or district level but have the ability to be revised and spent on other lines or when we get to UAS if not spent then of course the revenue is reduced and the expenditures are reduced to correspond and then the available able revenue then carries over to the next year. Title four again [snorts] unearned revenue program very similar process. Um you'll see we posted [clears throat] carryover. We did some alignment UTK planning again. UTK if you recall we had budgeted 300,000 in an additional allocation for this year. Part of that had expenditures to the tune of 96,000. We had to take those out but then we post the carryover at 4310. Um again that still will be revised depending on where the expenditures actually occur. lottery instructional materials. We aligned to match our u match

206the allocation for this year or we determined we needed more money in the 4310 line within lottery instructional materials. Again, that's a restricted resource different than the unrestricted lottery that's allocated out to school sites. Prop 28 is site money. And the timing of Prop 28 is is just interesting. We got our first allocation so late in the the first year we we didn't spend it. So it carried over got the second allocation. So there's this constant rolling over of some of this Prop 28 money. And it's excuse me it's difficult to spend. It's required to spend 80% of it on people. I know our site principles are doing an excellent job spending as much as they can, but um again that first year allocation that came so late in the year was unable to be

207spent. Equity multiplier was similar. This is I believe only four sites that qualify for equity multiplier funds. Again, this is all site funds. uh the carryovers budgeted in 4310, but again those site principles depending on their equity multiplier plan will have the opportunity to redistribute that budget based on where those expenditures are actually going to occur. Um a couple other expenditure lines that experience significant revisions uh from July to September 30th. One is maintenance supply. So I'll offer a little detail there. That's all in routine restricted maintenance. That is our M department uh resource 8150. Um that is a restricted resource. We're required to deposit 3%. Um you've heard me speak of that before. Um that is uh my director of M Jim Hopper. That's his budget. He had $2,90,03 of carryover. Um, so what

208uh staff does in the business office is we budget that in 4380 maintenance supplies to allow Jim to access all of his funds that are available within resource 8150. Um, he may or may not spend that. Again, when we get to UAS and it's not spent, you'll see it as a restricted ending balance at the end of the form 01 document. 4390 other supplies. you'll see a little bit of alignment and some carryover in resource zero and lottery. Those are the unrestricted uh portions of that particular expense line. We will see a big adjustment in restricted programs and that is our community schools grant. Um we've budgeted uh 1.9 million of that 2.1 million in revenue on the other supply line again but that is money that our community schools team will have the opportunity

209to spend. It landed here right now, but it's not all going to be expensed on this line. It will be re revised and transferred to the appropriate object code where the expenditures will occur. Uh, one last I'd like to offer a little bit of detail is 6410 equipment other. Uh, you'll see a major $1.7 million adjustment between adopted and revised. This particular line is related to there's a small amount on lottery. You'll see that wasn't adjusted, but in our restricted resources, we had to align our budget to the tune of 1.1 1,732,000 1,712,000 of that was all related to our Calshape grant programs. That's our plumbing and HVAC through the Calshape program. Um, we were we expected to expend that last year. However, the projects through the grant program for the plumbing and the HVAC

210did not wrap up prior to June 30th. So, the expenditures carried over into this year. And again, that's just expensing um restricted grant money on that Calshape program. Uh our next milestone as I mentioned earlier is the financials as of October 31st which of course is first interim and that'll be a full Sachs document that will be part of the board packet on December 11th which will include an updated budget plan um uh any other revisions to revenue based on information from the state or the federal government or local revenues. And of course we'll update our expenditure plan. We will do an updated multi-year projection which will include costs of negotiated settlements that were approved last month and again that will be in front of the board on December 11th. Thank you. Anybody got questions

211for Matt? >> Um I do. >> Okay. Go ahead. Um we increased our spending um in books and supplies by 10.7 million and then including the maintenance supplies and other supplies another roughly 4 million. So we just added 15.1 million roughly to books and supplies. Um, this concerns me, especially as we talk about putting money in accounts, um, and then not spending the money. Um, it gives the illusion that it will be spent and then that we can't have access to it to address other uh, financial needs in our district. Um, [clears throat] so I just wonder as far as the management of this funds, it looks like we're up in total books and supplies up to 33 million. Is this correct? >> You're looking at what page of the attachment? >> Um, page five

212of eight. So in books and supplies total books and supplies which is object code 4,000 to499 um yes at adopted budget we adopted $17.9 million of expenditures and the revised budget is 33.1 which that's an increase of 15 million primarily in restricted resources as I mentioned um either unearned revenue programs or restricted fund balance programs Um there were the unrestricted resources which I pointed out u the lottery which about 1.3 million is dedicated to a Chromebook refresh and uh teacher workstations. Um, yes. My concern is the amount of funds in books and supplies considering when we approved the budget of 17.9 million. That was roughly what we were spending in books and supplies. Give a little bit more. But now that we're up to 33 million, my concern is that we're uh placing funds in

213books and supplies with the anticipation of spending and history has shown we have not. Um, is there any way these funds could be held somewhere else? >> Yes, as a matter of fact, uh, based on the FICMAT recommendation of trying to spread out the budget based on more expenditure history, uh, staff in the business office has already started to do that. So, you'll see that change a little bit at first interim the because again, this is the financials as of September 30th. So staff in the business office has already started to redistribute based on spending patterns both on the unrestricted and the restricted side of the budget. >> Okay. I think that's important just as a board to keep in mind as far as our our spending of books [clears throat] and supplies and the

214fact that as of the date you mentioned, we're now at 33 million in in that account and that doesn't match our spending. Um, I also want to make a point to revisit um page two of eight and page three of eight in the attached document. It refers to the change of cost um based on the change of categorizing staff. Um we can see it reflected in one two10 where our certificated pupil support had a decrease of 2.5 million. And then we see it moving to 1310 where our certificate supervisor administrative salary increased 2.6 million roughly. Um I would like to renew a call uh that I made previously uh for a full disclosure of reclassified staff with any change in duties or salary. Um, I want to let the public know that I submitted a

215public records request and received 57 pages of tiny script showing all current employees of ABUSD. It is important that the board remain informed of these changes. I want to encourage my fellow board members to approve my request to get data and so that we all can be informed as far as the reclassification of staff from these positions and into administrative positions and whether again any change in duties or salaries accompanied it. Okay. Some more questions for Matt. You have a question? >> Yeah. May May I respond to that? >> Sure. >> I think um based on on the request uh from uh Trustee Longshore, I don't see a problem why we can't get it, but I think we need to get it before the next board meeting and to allow the uh the district to

216have that document ready for us uh or before the next board meeting. >> Okay. Well, is maybe that's for a future agenda item, but are is this the question this question for Matt or is this a statement? Um, if we can get through this item first. Okay. >> And then we can move on to future items. So, is there any more questions for Matt? >> Not from me. No. >> I There's a motion on the table to approve. We need a second. I think we actually have >> We have a second. >> Yeah. A Amanda. >> All right. So, we're going to vote on this and then we'll get to we have further to go and we have future agenda items and things like that so we can get that point taken. Okay. Anita Tucker

217>> I. >> Renee Longshore >> I. >> Maria Opara >> I. >> Amanda Buchanan >> I vote I as well. Okay. Brings us to consent. So, we have 23 items of consent. Um, we can go ahead and Does anybody want to pull anything? I'm sure there is. So, let's just start with that right off the bat. >> Nope. >> I would like to pull item number one. >> Okay. and items number 10, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, and 21. >> Why don't you give us the ones you don't want to pull? Let's see. So, you got nine. Okay. 1 9 10 >> 11 12 >> 13 >> 15 21 15 >> I'm sorry. 16 >> 15 I got 15. Is there anything after 15? and 21 >> 21. Okay. So, let's go ahead and

218um Does anybody else have anything they want to pull that we can go ahead and uh approve? 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 14 16 17 18 19 20 22 and 23. I'll move that we approve those items. >> I'll second. >> Okay, you got a second. Maria I mean um Anita >> I. Renee >> I >> Maria >> I >> Amanda >> I vote I as well. Okay, let's start with one. I will go ahead and present on that but I want to hear your Renee your uh your concerns with one first. >> That's okay. Um so number one is in reference to um approve the consultant agreement um with I create professional consultants for board development and facilitation services. So this is in reference to um what we've been discussing. >> We

219spoke about that in length a couple of times. >> Yes. >> So I know I understand you don't want to participate which is your right not to participate. I understand that CTA and Avuda flipped on it and doesn't want to participate anymore, which is that's their their their right and I respect their decision. So, I brought this forward a couple of months ago. I sent an email out to all the board members indicating that um it was contentious on the board. it's contentious with certain board members, with certain staff members, and that we can't really function this way. And then it comes up with the allegations of misconduct, hiding money, and there's no trust. And we heard from FitMat that there's no trust. So, I got a lot of support from it. And I actually

220talked to Brian from CTA who said, "Yeah, Rick, you know, you're right. I think it's a good idea." And Karen Saber says, "Yeah, I'll support it if Brian supports it." And we did. And I talked to JC Scott and he said, 'Yeah, I'll support it if Brian supports it. Karen supports it. I said, 'Yeah, they support it. And then last night I got home at 10 o'clock and there was an email. Ah, we don't want to be involved. Okay, that's fine. So, but we still have a board and we still have staff members that can benefit from this type of um sitdown. Now, this is just the first stage. It doesn't mean we're going to actually do a retreat. It will just be the first stage in getting together, finding out what the issues are.

221It's all confidential. It's a licensed psychologist group, so everything they do is u licensed. Now, we keep hearing the argument, well, it's a consultant. Well, we don't have anybody in house that can really do this that can be remain confidential. So, we need to go to an outside source. So that's why I brought it forward and that's why I would like support from the board on this. So I understand Renee, you don't want to participate. You made that very clear to me many times in our long conversations we've had about this. I had a conversation with Anita and she said, you know, I I really want to move forward with some type of um board um um getting together to get a consensus going. So, I'm hoping that I can get some support for this

222tonight. So, I'm asking that um we can move this item forward. In fact, I'll make a motion that we support item number one if I have a second. >> We have a second from Maria. I You're not for it. >> Am I going to be able to share or discuss my >> You should be able. >> Yeah, go ahead and share your your concerns. >> Okay. Very good. Um, I appreciate you recognizing that this is something that I have expressed concern over ever since it was brought to my attention. Um, I have not flipped or flopped on it. I have >> No, no, I'm saying >> I know they have, but I just want to make it clear I have been steadfast in my resolve, right? Um my concern with this one is not only

223the cost of the service um but also the method by which um information will be shared. Um it has been my experience in public session and as you all have witnessed um inappropriate ways of being one towards the other. Um, I feel at this point in time, while I'm definitely in favor of um, being able to acknowledge where we are as a board and being able to take steps towards uh, healthy relationship right now, we're not there even publicly. So, it concerns me to give any credence to a private gossip session is how I would view it. Um I feel like at this point in time um I cannot support this. I do not believe it is the best use of district funds and I do not believe that as um a board and administrative

224team that it will be a an effective uh process or give us something that we can move forward with. In fact, I think it could be um quite the opposite and that is why I'm choosing not to participate. >> Okay. But like I said earlier, that's your that's your right. It's unfortunate that you do not want to participate, but hey, we're all we're all here at our own free will. So, uh, we have a motion and a second on the table. I would like to take a a roll call vote on this item. >> Well, do we have enough comments? >> Yeah. Does anybody else want to comment, Anita? Um, [clears throat] I I ch worry about the cost, but I'm also concerned about the cost of not being able to be as productive and

225functioning as a board. Um, I'm hopeful that through this we can become stronger. we can develop more trust because I do think we need to have that and we need to go forward. >> Okay. Thank you, Maria. >> Well, my my feeling about it is like going to a marriage counseling. You know, if you want to be married and stay married uh for four years or three years or two years, uh you need to sit down and have a conversation. If you don't agree, at least be able to speak it and have your voice heard. Um if your voice is not heard then you are out there in the ether and nobody really knows how you are feeling except that you feel um feel uncomfortable. Uh so uh you know no matter what happens here

226on the board, we have a responsibility uh to be good stewards of this district and if we cannot do it in openness and just be able to tell each other um how we feel. If if Renee upsets me when the time is right, I will have a conversation with Renee, but it will not be a public conversation. Um, but I I think as a as a district, it begins with us. We have to be willing to have that conversation. We have to be open to that conversation. We have to be to allow ourselves to be criticized. When I was a site principal, I let my teachers tell me how they felt about me so that I can fix me. And if I cannot fix me and I'm constantly thinking that I'm so important that nobody

227can touch me, then the whole system falls apart. I think we need to go to a a place where we can talk honestly with each other and share our concerns with each other and if we have offended each other, we apologize to each other and move on for the benefit of this school district. We have a job to do and we can't do it in isolation. So I I personally think no matter what happens that we put aside our personal issues and look to what is important for this district and write this ship. We need to write it so that we can begin to have an honest conversation with each other. Right now it is missing and we need to be able to sit down and have that conversation. I don't know how else to

228do it. I'm not a counselor, but I have had a broken marriage and I wish somebody had asked me to go to counseling. Maybe I would have held on to it. But this is counseling for us. We need to be able to have that understanding so we can fix the problems we currently have. Well, that's very well stated and I have to apologize for getting a little bit upset about it, but I think that there are people here who thrive on the chaos and they do not want to see cohesiveness because it screws up their agenda on what they have planned. So, I really appreciate th those words that that you uh you did. >> I'm sorry. >> Not naming names. I'm just saying there's people that I believe that are thriving on chaos. Okay.

229You >> Yeah. >> Well, I'll see you in the parking lot. Is that [laughter] what it is? >> No, it's not that. It's not personal. >> I I I really do. I think we we had a conversation in the back. It was very polite, very cordial, and >> Okay. >> All right. >> Okay. You have a right to change your mind. That's that's life. >> Okay. So, any any other comments? >> I I have one. >> Okay. >> And I don't know if you can even answer this, but I know that this is the first stage. Do we know the full amount that this >> No, it is not. And it would be we'd have to bring it back for a second second time. >> So, we're going with this first part and hopefully >>

230maybe we don't need more. >> Right. >> I'm hoping we don't need more. >> Yeah. So, it's first stage. >> Okay. Vote. >> So, we're going to we'll go ahead and vote on this then we'll go to number nine and we'll just go individually down the the row here. >> Anita, >> are we voting on one? >> Yes. >> Okay. I >> Renee >> nay. >> Maria >> I. >> Amanda >> I vote I as well. Okay. Number nine, that will be Renee. That's the contract. >> Still still Rene. >> Um Oh, I'm sorry. Renee pulled it. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. >> Yes. So, the reason why I pulled number nine um along with 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, and 21. My question is, is this already included? Is this a recurring cost that we've

231already planned for, already budgeted, or is this new? >> I can answer that. Um, this [clears throat] PAR professional academy um is only recurring in the sense that we did do this last year um using a range of different um consultants who came at different costs, some of them free. For example, we did use our SULPA for some topics where they were expert. um we used our BCBAS where they were expert and then we did use Dr. PAL in areas and then we pulled the pair of professionals who participated last year and asked them was this valuable this happened on Wednesday afternoons when they were already um engaged with us as employees but there are students are students are leaving campus early that day and there's um some time so we're just gathering them in

232that time so that part was really convenient three different times is because there's you know the different segments and so their response uh back to us was that there was um there was great value in it but they had um particular interest in uh Dr. Pal's topics and continuing the work he started. So this is simply in response to their request. We are using the ELOP funds because we're um you know using this as a for those who work in the afterchool setting. These are great skills for them to have, but of course there's skills they can exercise during the school day. And so that's that's how this came to be. Um it's not something we have to continue to do. Um if we choose to u not do this again the following year, it

233could be this is something we end. But the costs um are there aren't a lot of extra costs on the hourly salary side because it's on Wednesday afternoons. That's kind of the background. >> Okay. So this particular um training, we have no current um staff that's uh trained to be a presenter or a facilitator for these services for our par professionals. >> Not not this level of expertise. No. Uh we don't. um he's a nationally known speaker, researcher, happens to be local and connected, but um part of why I think that pair of professionals rated this as their number one interaction was just because of his skill. So, it's just a unique skill set he brings. >> Okay, thank you. So, are we going to go one by one on these? >> Sure, we can.

234>> All the same. You you said they're all about the same, so you might as well go with the rest of them so we can vote on it. >> Well, and I just would like to point out that on number 10, number 11, and number 12, there is no cost. We have to um approve contracts even if there is no cost um so that they are covered under liability [clears throat] and things while they're on our property. >> Okay. Thank you. Mhm. >> So then down to number 13, approved consultant agreement with dual pro promise for professional development for English learner specialists. Does this come at additional cost and have we already budgeted for it? >> This does come at an additional [clears throat] cost. It is an appropriate use of uh um what uh

235one of the funds we saw today, the title three funds where we must have additional supplemental trainings that are not supplanting what we're already doing. And so title three funds are expressly set aside for this kind of thing. And it's going to be in concert with um something really awesome that the county chose to fund, the be glad training, which our um uh English language development department um solicited for the county to cover at the tune of $50,000. So we um were able to kind of split some of those to make our title three dollars go a lot further this year. So um so we really can't use those funds anywhere else. they need to be used for um this kind of professional learning to advance the learning of our English learners. >> Okay. So

236already already budgeted already um accounted for. And then our number 15, the approved the textbook adoption um is does this come with cost? >> Yes, it will but it is uh this is will be paid for by a grant. The Golden State Pathways Grant will um it was expressly written to build develop these courses and purchase the texts. And so those grant funds, they have to be spent on the budget items we promised the state we'd spend them on. And that's one of them >> from the Golden State Pathways Grant. Right. >> Correct. Exactly. Right. And then the um number 21, ratify consultant agreements. Um are those already budgeted and accounted for? >> The consultants agreements included in number 21 are all uh school sites. You'll see. So those are part of the school site

237discretionary budgets where the principles have the ability based on their priorities and the school site council priorities. Um, so yes, I would I would assume the principles have uh budgeted for these expenses and their site budgets. >> Okay. Thank you. So from what I understand any cost associated with these items that I've pointed out are being covered under the uh 33 million um total books and supplies >> or no >> typically consultants are going to be under the the 5000s usually. It depends. Um, but it could be that the monies, as Matt said, if they came as carryover and were posted in the 4,000s, using this title three is a good example. It's a small dollar amount. But if it's posted there, because that's where carryover lands and there's no money in the 5,000s because

238there was we, we know, we did not know exactly what form the professional development would come this year. It will have to be there will have to be a budget revision made to move dollars from the 4,000s to the appropriate 5000s category. Yes. To then pay that bill. And so it could indirectly come from the 4,000s, but it might make a pit stop in the appropriate budget line to reflect the fact that this isn't a book and supply, but rather >> consultant >> a consultant agreement. And yet it's still the resource is still that categorical resource intended to um only be spent for English learners in this particular case as an example. >> Okay. Thank you so much. >> Thank you Pat. >> No, I don't know. We can vote them all at the same

239time here. So it's um Is there any more? Renee, are you clear? >> Oh, that was it. Thank you. >> Okay. Okay. So, we'll need a motion to approve nine >> 10 11 12 13 15 21 and 23. So, Renee, you want to make the motion since you pulled them? >> So moved. >> Okay, we have a second. >> Second by Tucker. Okay. Anita >> I Renee Longshore >> I. Maria Abara. >> Hi, >> Amanda Buchanan. [clears throat] >> Hi. >> I vote I as well. Okay, that takes us to [clears throat] no close session. >> Can I make a comment on the staff reports, please? >> Which one? >> Staff reports number two. Child welfare and attendance staff reports. >> Go ahead. Yeah. >> Um I noticed uh as I was looking through the

240list of your attendance that we're having such high number of students um classified as homeless in very specific schools. So I'm kind of curious about what we are doing about making sure that those um those homeless are actually verified. >> Am I taking it? >> Yes. Yeah. So, we still have the process, which is why um you heard a parent up here tonight talking about the fact that he was declined on Mckin Vento because they don't meet the criteria. So, each of these families have to produce the um information that um aligns them to be in that setting. They can self attest that they are um uh fiscally not able to um have their own housing. Um but we do verify each family that lists that they are homeless and ones that we have concern

241about we um do home visits and verify that the children are actually living in that home doubled up or not just using an address. So we also have um still the um clear process where they go and they report to us whether or not um all the indicators are that that address is their home address. because I'm kind of concerned that um Serenbull Academy has such high number of homeless. >> Yeah, they have 1,700 students. So when you think of the 1700 students and the potential of the size of the homes and the fact that people can double up in that area, um we are finding that there are some families that are doubling up where they um have grandparents and aunts and uncles. >> Thank you. Anything else? >> No. >> Okay. We have

242no need for to go back into close session. So, we'll take closing items. So, we have future agenda items. I know Maria, you mentioned you or no, Amanda, you had something. >> I do. Yeah. >> And we'll get go down the road. >> Okay. Um in our FCMAT report that we got uh page six, no page seven is where it said that our fiscal solveny risk level was high. But it said that the main indicator that pushed us into that level was the fact that we had no board approved plan to reduce or eliminate deficit spending. Um would it be possible for us to begin that process? Yes, there are several dates that'll be provided to the board next week having to do with a um our DAC team coming together as well as um

243certificated and classified members of the district and um the budget committee will then meet and identify areas based on um unrestricted dollars that can be um used different like we have to go through everything exactly what we've talked about. Okay. And then the board will obviously be presented with the outcome of that in the sense of what the recommendations for uh um expenditure reduction. >> Okay. Thank you. >> I have I have a future item that I would like to bring forward. Um, I'd like to know what we are doing with our instructional assistance and how we are using them in the different schools because I know that they were brought in to support the special education teachers and I want to know what they're getting if the instructional assistants are actually in the classrooms

244helping the special education teachers or if they're out doing other things other than special education because that's important to know. uh also to get the information on how many uh positions were were hired with one-time money. Um we need that because it keeps coming up and because it keeps coming up [clears throat] until we get an answer. It will keep coming up. So I think we need to address that once and for all. >> Okay. Renee, you have anything? >> Um yes. I just want to revisit the idea that I renewed my call for a full disclosure of reclassified staff with any change in duties or salary. >> Okay, Anita, >> I'm good. >> Okay, are you clear? >> All right, that brings us to adjournment. There was no further business to come before the

245board of trustees. So I'll make the motion that we adjourn at 10:20 [clears throat] p.m. >> I'll second. >> Okay. Anita >> I. >> Renee >> I. >> Maria >> I. >> Amanda >> I vote I as well. Thank you. We are journal.