001Mhm. >> Okay. I'll call the meeting to order. Uh we have a flag salute. Um Mrs. Taylor, would you mind leading us? Thank you. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Um could I get a motion to adopt the agenda? I'll move. Thank you, Mrs. Koznik. Uh do I have a second? Or I'll second. Thank you, Mrs. Ellis-White. Roll call vote. Mrs. Cooley? Yes. Mrs. Pierce? Yes. Mrs. Taylor? Yes. Mr. Arnold? Yes. Mrs. Ellis-White? >> Yes. Mrs. Koznik? Yes. Thank you. All right. Um the next is um report on to action taken in closed session. Is that correct? Yes. Thank you. So, report on action in closed session.
002Uh in closed session, the board voted to approve a resignation agreement with a classified employee. The year vote was unanimous. Also, in closed session, the vote the board voted to approve a retirement agreement with a classified manager. That vote was unanimous. And then lastly, in closed session, the board the board unanimously voted to approve a special education agreement. Details are available upon request. We're not voting up here? No. No, we voted closed session on those matters. Do we Mhm. Okay. All right. Next is um school-related reports. Do we have a report from CSEA or ADT this evening? Okay, Ms. Weatherly. Okay. Much better, apparently. Okay, do I need to restate everything again or did you all hear it the first time? Um one of the things that you know, [clears throat] we we work to
003strive on is that communication part and the the transparency and the collaboration. And I think it's very, very beneficial that we do that. I think through the eyes of Dr. Bennett that is that's truly happening. Um one of the other portions is that we are in a process that is very natural. Um we have not seen it for a very long time and I would say uh trustee Alice White has gone through this process before and would be the most experienced even above me in most parts of mediation and where we have seen our district in the past and what we have gone through in the past. I would also ask the board to be respectful. Um as Dr. Bennett's email via Veronica. Thank you. Um came out just the other day. Um the following
004response was kind of slanderous against the the association. And I think it needs to be meaningful because we truly do want to work from the bottom up and have that communication and transparency with the district. That is something that I have always sought and thought was a goal of our district and made us very strong as a district. Um but the personal attacks is not needed. Thank you. Um next is our student representative, Lucy. Okay. Um so our freshman class in ASB has been working on a dodgeball tournament which will be played in the next couple weeks and the final we played at our spring pep rally which will be also coming up. Um our choir just had their sweetheart showcase which was a big success and band is fundraising to try and raise money
005for their program. Our PAWS ASB class is hosting a spring dance where clubs will be able to sell goods and represent. And we just revealed our prom theme to our students which prom will be at Roaring Camp Winery on April 25th, and the theme is Moonlight Masquerade, which sounds really fun. Wish I was going. Um our ASB applications are opening, which I've heard a lot of students excited about joining, so I'm excited for that. Um our boys basketball team is going to state for Division 3, and we've had a senior, Emma Garrett, who also made it for to state for wrestling. Our drama program is working on their SpongeBob production, which sounds really fun. Um we have our track program, which they're hosting a meet this Saturday, and I heard that there's like 20 different
006schools coming to compete, which will be really fun, and lots of student volunteers will be helping. And our seniors, we are working on a grad night trip for them, and they're going to be going to Disneyland. And finally, we have a great tutoring program, where our students can come either before or after school to get help for their homework and stuff. Thank you. Thank you. Lucy, did you say the track meet was on Saturday or Sunday? Saturday. Saturday. All right. I'm not sure times, but I think it starts pretty early in the morning and goes to like 3:00, so. >> 9:00. 9:00. Okay. 9:00 to like 3:00-ish. Great. Thank you. All right. Next is oral communication from the public. Uh public comments are limited to 3 minutes in length. The limit for any one topic
007is 20 minutes, and you may speak on any item at this time, or you may hold your comments on an agenda item until the board president asks for public comments. Uh first, we're going to have Brooke Ferrari. Good evening, board members and Superintendent Bennett. At the last board meeting, Superintendent Tom Bennett, you spoke about building a district culture that feels like family, about partnership, shared commitment, and working together. I want to speak to that. On our campuses, we experience community, collaboration, and teamwork every single day with students, with colleagues, and with families. That sense of shared responsibility and family is not just something we talk about. It is something we as educators consistently demonstrate through our actions. If we are going to use the language of family, our policies must reflect it. Culture is built
008by what we fund and allow, not by what we say. Words mean little when actions do not follow. Families do not expect loyalty while withholding support. With your background in mathematics and education, we expected clear fiscal leadership. Eight months into your tenure at AISD, we are still waiting to see that leadership reflected in equitable and transparent decisions. When leadership compensation increases by 4% while classroom educators are told there's no room for cost of living adjustments or operational support, the idea of shared sacrifice rings hollow. In a healthy family, that sacrifice is shared, not selective. If we are truly building a family, then leadership sets the tone. A powerful show of goodwill, a tangible demonstration of partnership, would be choosing to reinvest those increases back into the teachers and programs that make this this district function,
009ensuring no educator is left behind. Let me offer a concrete example of this disconnect. I volunteer coach the Atascocita High School JV softball team. For away games, I was told there is no district funding to cover my classes. I had arranged substitutes in advance and offered to use my personal business leave, prepared to drive over 450 miles this season at my own expense, yet I was told I must take unpaid leave to attend. Through this, I discovered the district will not pay for substitutes for any volunteer assistant coach employed by AISD. Out of 108 total high school coaching positions, only four volunteer coaches are district employees. Just 3.7%, two of which are in the softball program. As employees, instead of being supported, we are discouraged by district policy. When we ask why staff are not
010volunteering, coaching, or investing beyond the classroom, this is the answer. Policies like this create barriers that discourage engagement and that affects students directly. If coaches are barred from attending games, how much is the Tascosa Unified willing to sacrifice student supervision and safety to save money? Tonight, I should be in Lompoc supporting our softball family. Instead, I am here. And our athletes are asking why. Family is not a slogan. It is not defined by words alone. However, what we see are words and actions that are not aligned. Tonight, I'm asking you to model shared sacrifice, prioritize student safety, and show that family is more than a feel-good talking point that sounds good but carries no real weight. The culture of this district will not be defined by speeches. It will be defined by the decisions that
011you make when supporting teachers requires real sacrifice. Our students are watching. Your staff is watching. It's your choice whether you will sacrifice like we all do for the community that we've built. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Allison Castenholz. Uh since the last meeting, I've been mulling over the matter of teacher compensation. I offer that could provide double the average yearly rate increase in California. Contemptibly, [snorts] this would still leave our untenured teachers with below the poverty line wages, >> [clears throat] >> but it's better than the 0% you offer. Here is my suggestion. Make teacher wages tax exempt. This avenue would add $3,400 to untenured teachers yearly salary. The amount may seem unremarkable, and it certainly is not commensurate. But again, it is more than the 0% you now offer. While this option does not
012give our teachers a raise per se, it would allow our teachers to keep all the money that they earn. Not [clears throat] only does this leave money with the teachers, but it would also mean that the teachers are not paying their own salary as taxpayer and public servant. Moreover, this approach would address teacher compensation without risking the fiscal health of the district. Now, how do we make this happen? Income taxation rate is not localized. It is a statewide fixed number. The school board has no authority. For this concept to come to fruition, this board and this community will need to look beyond the district. This unorthodox approach would need to be managed at a state level. It requires understanding of California tax codes, >> [clears throat] >> writing a tax levy, gathering thousands of signatures,
013attending revenue and taxation committee hearings, collaborating with state legislative bodies. >> [snorts] >> As discussed last week, two of your stated tenants are staff collaboration and commitment to student success. If this body truly stands by this, you will help our community help our teachers. This strategy will be big, arduous, cumbersome. However, with the strong support of this board and its great power and resources, certainly this community can make this happen. If this board is not willing to collaborate extensively, then perhaps the district's stated goals regarding negotiations were not made in earnest. In the most district-wide letter, Dr. Bennett, you expressed a want to negotiate in a way that quote reflects our shared commitment to student and staff. Perhaps this can create an opportunity for you and this board to make a quote good faith effort
014to move beyond the current impasse. Dr. Bennett, can this community count on you for your leadership and support? I intended to talk to your president. She is not available. My other question for you is, can you and your board members be champions for this cause? There are several board members who in brief research, I see you're big into minimal taxation. Yeah? So, certainly a bunch of you can get behind us to do this. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Mary Corey. Hi, my name is Mary Corey. I am a teacher at Atascadero High School, and I have been teaching at the high school for 27 years, which is a really, really long time. I love my job. Not only do I get to teach teenagers, which if you don't know is the best thing ever, I
015get to teach future teachers. One of the things that I do in my job is I have a lot of Cal Poly teaching candidates that get placed with me. Um and I get to take these people and mentor them and show them everything that is amazing about getting to hang out with teenagers and work with them. Um and show them the ins and outs of how teaching works. Teaching is a job that really can only be learned by teaching. And I am so privileged to get to guide these young people, or sometimes not so young people, and show them how amazing this job can be. I get to watch them apply for jobs. And I want to hire every single one of them, and I can't. First of all, because I don't get to hire
016anybody. But secondly, because sometimes we don't have a job for them. We don't have place in our school. But sometimes they don't want to work for us. And they don't want to work for us because we don't pay very well. And that is heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking to see somebody who is so talented and so capable choose to go somewhere else. I realize that throwing money at teachers might seem like there's a no return investment there and like we are never satisfied and we never feel like we are paid enough. And I understand how you might have that perception and I also understand that things are expensive right now. Everything is expensive and that running a district is a very expensive thing. I do understand that. Mr. Bennett made that very clear with his excellent email
017that he sent out to every single person in the district a couple days ago. But I want to ask you guys if you could please try to prioritize teacher salaries. Because we are in the job of teaching kids. That's our business. That's what we do. And in order to teach kids effectively, we need to have good teachers doing it. And it is horrible to see the young talent that I get to work with going to Lucia Mar or going to Templeton for God's sake when we can't keep them here. I can only do so much with my sparkling personality to try to keep people at Atascadero High School. They have to pay rent and they have to buy food just like everyone else and rent is more expensive than it used to be and food
018is a lot more expensive than it used to be. So I'm asking you to please consider prioritizing teacher salaries. Because if we're going to teach kids, we need good teachers to do it and we need to be able to attract and keep good teachers. And unfortunately, salary is the only way that we are going to keep the kind of teaching staff that our students all deserve to have. Thank you. WOO! >> [applause] [applause] >> JOELLE MUELLER IS THIS ALREADY GONE? THIS IS NOT MADE FOR short people, that's for sure. All right, my name is Joelle Mueller. Um, I'm a veteran teacher of 28 years. >> [laughter] >> I've raised two kids in this district and my husband and I, we've been a big part of the community for many, many years. Um, tonight I'm speaking
019on behalf of the teachers of Santa Margarita Elementary School as a unified collective. We entered this profession to educate and support students, not to engage in political rhetoric. For that reason, we were deeply troubled by the recent social media post made by one of our AUSD board members. While we respect the right to free speech, an elected official has an elevated responsibility to communicate with accuracy, professionalism, and impartiality. Publicly politicizing what is fundamentally an economic and contractual issue was inappropriate and unnecessarily divisive. The broad generalizations made about teachers were misleading and unfair, leaving many of us feeling targeted and misrepresented. Further, the suggestion that requesting a fair portion of the district's COLA allocation somehow undermines working class families or the broader is misguided. We are the working class families. We live here, we invest here,
020we serve this community on a daily basis. Our students are our priorities. For us to have a meaningful conversation about priorities, it must begin with an honest examination of where resources are allocated and whom those decisions benefit. And we are happy to hear that discussions have been happening during the budget advisory meetings. Our position remains that investment first and foremost support students and the educators who work with them directly. To be clear, educators advocating for a competitive salary that keeps pace with the rising cost of living is not political maneuvering. It is a reasonable and necessary request. Without adjustments that reflect inflation and increased professional demands, teachers experience a pay cut each year while responsibilities continue to grow. That reality is unsustainable. Board members are entrusted with leadership that promotes unity, transparency, and factual discourse.
021Public statements that cast educators in a negative light without full context do not advance those goals and only deepen our division within the district. We ask that district leadership demonstrate the same commitment through respect, integrity, and teamwork, which would allow to district-wide unity. THANK YOU SO MUCH. >> [applause] >> MARY DUNSMOOR. ALL RIGHT. HELLO. Thank you. Um 24 years. Not quite where you ladies are, but um been teaching for a bit. I was asked by a parent to read a message and I was honored and happy to do that for her. Um so, this is what it reads. As a parent and someone who works for the district, I have concerns about the number of students in our classrooms. I have watched teachers work tirelessly to manage their classrooms. I have watched as a parent
022volunteer how difficult it is to help students in a class of 32. I have worked as a substitute teacher and struggled to manage to manage the class of those 32 kids. And I have run small groups in a large class and watched the students struggle to understand what is being taught because other students are acting out. Our students deserve better than a class size so large that the best teachers are struggling. It is difficult to even walk around a room with 32 desks and 32 chairs. Um yet our teachers are expected to move around, help students, and still have an area for a small group instruction table. Smaller class sizes can improve academic performance. It allows students to get more attention from their teachers. The teacher can spend more time on individual instruction. Behavior issues
023can be reduced with a smaller class. The teachers deserve better. A smaller class size makes it more manageable and allows the opportunity to build stronger relationships. Building a strong future starts in the classroom. And I think we should all work towards showing our children how much we value them by sending them to a class that their teachers can find success in. Um it is difficult to do true tier one work, being proactive and preventative, when a lot of time is spent in class on that tier two and tier three cycle, which is reactive reactive and putting out fires. Um you know, I think a lot of this is just now my my lens. I still have time. Um has been talking about the culture and the climate and can we retain these teachers? I think
024this is, you know, another puzzle piece. We've had multiple shared. So, um Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you. Uh the next item is the superintendent's report. Uh thank you very much. Um, let me just say thank you to all of you that came up and presented tonight. Um, Andrew, just one quick question for you. Um, you had indicated something about the letter that went out. Were you suggesting that the letter that I had written was uh slanderous in some way because it was never intended that way? No, I actually appreciate your letter going out. Uh, Um, I thought that gave a good open insight our communication and being transparent. Um, and I think that was well well written. It was items that came out after that. >> Okay. The uh Instagram, Facebook, um social
025media. Yeah. I just want to be able to make sure because, you know, I I understand the concern um and I I I do hear you. The I I want to be able to make sure that we're partnering well and look, I understand the concerns that were brought out and you know, I want to be able to ensure that we we do partner well together. I I want it to be more than slogan-ish cuz that's not at all what I'm trying to be able to convey. I'm I'm trying to convey heartfelt sentiment for how we work together. Um, and my door is always open. I I certainly need to be out into the classrooms a whole lot more than I am today. Um, and that's I'll just tell you that I I it's not an
026excuse, but there's there's a lot happening and I'm I'm doing my very best to be able to ensure that we we hit it head-on. Um, I understand your concerns as it relates to salaries. I I see it and we're having the conversations. I'll just say that I'm genuinely looking forward to um mediation that's coming up on the 10th. I know that our team is looking forward to that as well. Um, I want to make sure that our teachers feel valued and respected. Um, I think that's critically important. Um So, I I've said I I hear you in the past and we're genuinely trying to be able to find ways to be able to partner well with our teachers and ADTA um to hear and understand what the issues are, to also understand our budget, and
027to make sure that we're not into massive layoffs or or something that would just bring you know, the wrong effects. And so, our funds are limited and I want to be able to partner well to be able to say, "How do we best allocate our resources?" Um to make sure that we're meeting our needs. And I can just say that I've had conversations with our trustees and I know that they're they're quite genuinely interested in the same, ensuring that our teachers are are well compensated within what we can do, and I think that's where a lot of the challenges are. So, with that, I'll just say I'm I'm genuinely looking forward to making progress on the temp together. So. Um the other things that I want to be able to say, first of all, regarding
028our our boys uh basketball team, they're playing right now uh uh at the state level um against Warren, which is fantastic. I'm not sure what the update is, but if anybody knows? No? We're down 13-18 at the quarter. Okay, so that's five. That's still doable. >> That's very doable. Yes. Um and the last thing that I want to be able to say is that I I am looking forward to getting out to some classrooms this week to be able to do some reading. Um I am Uh please do. Yes. I I I have my own books. They're They're math books and not textbooks. They're children's math books, which I would be really excited to be able to bring back out, and if I can get into the classroom, that would be awesome. So, with that,
029thank you very much. Thanks for your comments tonight, and please do reach out. Um I would love to hear from you. Thank you. Thank you. Uh board members report. Uh Mrs. Cooney, would you like to go first this evening? No, I have no report tonight. Okay. And Mrs. Taylor? Okay. Joey? Yeah, we're not making him go first. >> Oh, okay. I will Too late, it's my turn. Okay, well, thank you for the speakers. You guys take the time to come up and convey your opinion and experience and it's good to hear from our long-time teachers. That's incredible. 24 to 28 years. I'll let you know what I've been doing in the meanwhile. We've had some committees that we're working on. Um We have a committee that has to do with the city and schools collaboration
030together. It's a super good place that we talk about school safety and how we collaborate with um our local authorities in events of emergencies amongst other things. We also spoke with them about our CTE pathways. They have opportunities to hire right out of high school and that we had a lot of good conversations about the pathways that we're providing for students that they may have employment for. Um I got to go to the middle school's science student of the week lunch celebration. I don't get to go to a lot of activities like V gets to go to, but it was very enjoyable. There was a lot of um kids that participated in it. There was a lot of awards and I it was great to see the teachers and the kids at the middle school
031interact. And then today we also had a budget budget advisory task force meeting which I know some of you were there and you know how hard we're working on the budget and what a challenge it is for us as trustees as for also everybody in the district to try to navigate that. So, just to let you know that we are working hard at that as well. I too am on the city school committee and you covered everything but it's a very enjoyable committee. I love the partnership that the the district offers to the city and the city offers to the district. So, that's about all I have got. Well, I had an opportunity to celebrate Dr. Seuss with a kindergarten class and Miss Sarah. She invited and I was able to read two books in
032her class. What is the same what what is the saying that you do? Ears please. You want me to say it? Well, you can [laughter] say say it because we had a nice conversation. I listen with my eyes ears and wait I'm sorry. Put you on the spot. Listen with your eyes ears heart and body. But I'm sorry I like you on the spot. Put me on the spot. I'm so sorry. Yes. And they were able to you know when I asked what that meant they were able to explain and have a conversation with me about that and and because it's all about exercising their brain and how their brain grows and it grows not just from knowledge but it's the experience one has by using their senses and it was just I'm like these
033kindergarten so I I told Miss Sarah tell you know her class thank you very much and asked to be invited again. She's very good about that so I appreciate the No, I do not. I just bring myself and my sunny my sunny disposition and and they go we know who you are and I said yes you do. So and then also we again went to thanks to Alex and the middle school the invite for the Friday recognizing the science students. I hear this Friday it's the electives. So that if we want to come back we can. And they have popcorn. My favorite. And otherwise that's all I have to say. Thank you. Joey you're All right. Thank you everybody for coming out tonight. I was going to say congratulations to the boys basketball team. If
034anybody didn't get a chance to go watch them play this year, they were really fun to watch. Um I got to go to several games and was not disappointed. They were great. So good luck to them tonight. Don't want to forget about the girls. They ran into a little bit of trouble in their first CIF game and unfortunately weren't at full strength at the second one. And were beat in the semi-finals. But they had a great year. They won 21 games. The majority of them are coming back next year. So they're going to they should be exciting. So Good job to them too. And pretty close to the team. Anyway, that's all I got tonight. And I just want to thank everyone tonight who came to speak and show their support. The slow county honor
035band concert at the Cal Poly Pack was on February 18th. It was wonderful. We had five Atascadero middle school students and one fine art student who were chosen for the junior honor band. And then we had four students from Atascadero high school were part of the county honor band. Um The one of the guest conductors made some remarks that I thought was really powerful. He said band makes students better. They learn to be a team very quickly and they root for each other. Music also helps them express their themselves and their feelings. Um, our students had a phenomenal time working with their guest conductors and they called the experience {quote} the most engaging {unquote}. Um, you can catch our student musicians at the All District Band Concert tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. at the Atascadero Middle
036School gym. Um, I also thoroughly enjoyed the Atascadero High School Choir Booster Sweetheart Dinner that I attended with Mrs. Uh, Ellis White at the Kiwanis Hall. There were 20 acts, mostly soloists, and I thought it was so brave of these students to perform these solos and they did a a wonderful job. Um, the dinner was catered by the Atascadero Kiwanis Club. Um, so I thank our uh, Kiwanians for their support of our students. Um, the FFA uh, had their cow annual cow drop dinner. Uh, chapter president Gabby Ferrier and um, chapter vice president Casey Salas, Maddie and Jessie and a lot of other students did a spectacular job representing the Atascadero FFA crew and running their event. Uh, even though I think half their crew were in Chino for a judging contest. So, very challenging.
037it was a wonderful event and for such a good cause. Uh, I am so in awe and impressed by our FFA students and the accomplishments that they keep racking up. Um, I missed the Lighthouse Reality Tour uh, because uh, most of most of us were attending the SLO County Office of Education Trustee Dinner and Ethics Training um, at the Madonna Inn on on Monday. Uh, but I look forward to attending the March 9th uh, Reality Tour. Uh, and then yesterday we I was one of several folks on our cabinet and uh, trustees who attended the CSBA Legislative and Budget Update. Uh, it was a Zoom meeting uh, with our two regional directors and numerous other trustees in the county and this was in preparation for legislation legislative action week in the next couple weeks where
038we get to meet with our state senator and our assembly member to discuss school budgets. March 17th to the 19th is that week. March 17th and the 19th. So I look forward to having those conversations with our representatives and then lastly I want to wish our Atascadero High School boys basketball team good luck on their CIF state playoffs game. Win or lose, we're so proud of them and a fantastic season and as well as our girls basketball team. Thank you. So then we move on to minutes. We have the approval of minutes from the regular board meeting of February 3rd, 2026. Do I have a motion to approve? I'll move to approve. Thank you, Mrs. Koznek. Thank you, Mrs. Conley. Roll call vote please. >> [clears throat] >> Mrs. Taylor? Yes. Mr. Arnold? Yes. Mrs.
039Ellis-White? >> Yes. Mrs. Conley? Yes. Mrs. Pierce? Yes. Mrs. Koznek? Yes. Thank you. Okay. And then the next is the approval of minutes from the regular board meeting of February 17th, 2026. Do I have a motion to approve? I'll motion to approve. Thank you, Mrs. Taylor. Is there a second? I'll second. Thank you, Mrs. Ellis-White. Roll call vote please. Mrs. Pierce? Yes. Mrs. Koznek? Abstain. Mr. Arnold? Yes. Mrs. Ellis-White? Yes. Mrs. Cooney? Yes. Mrs. Taylor? Yes. Thank you. All right, thank you. So, moving along, we have the consent agenda. Is there anything that um anyone would like to pull from the consent agenda this evening? Seeing Yes. >> Um on E Should we pull that since it's for my absence from last meeting? >> Oh. Can we pull that and vote on it separately? Do
040I have to abstain from that one? You can abstain when you vote. Okay. >> But we need we do it as a We We approve the consent agenda as a calendar as a >> We need to pull that one and then vote on the other ones. Okay. So, we'll pull E. So, do I have a motion to approve consent agenda A through D? So moved. Thank you, Mrs. Cooney. Thank you, Mrs. Ellis-White. Roll call vote, please. >> [clears throat] >> Mrs. Cotton Yes, Mrs. Koznik? Yes. Mrs. Ellis-White? Yes. Mr. Arnold? Yes. Mrs. Cooney? Yes. Mrs. Taylor? Yes. Mrs. Pierce? Yes. All right. And then, could I get a motion to approve uh item E, please? I'm Okay. Mrs. Cooney? I second. >> Thank you, Mrs. Ellis-White. Roll call vote, please. Mrs. Taylor? Yes. Mrs. Pierce?
041Yes. Mrs. Cooney? Yes. Mrs. Kosnik? Abstain. Mrs. Ellis White? Yes. Mr. Arnold? Yes. Thank you. All right. Mrs. Darnell? I think it's your turn to your turn. Uh thank you, Trustee Pierce. I'm going to invite up our um Director of Support Services, Mr. Brant Lloyd, for 13A and 13B. Brant Lloyd, Director of Support Services for the district, and tonight I bring for your consideration uh a couple of uh items regarding the AHS entry security improvements project. And so, this particular project is an excellent project at Atascocita High School that um helps the district continue to bolster the safety and the security of the campus. Um this project um is taking a portion of the building that has long been used as the main entrance of the building and actually given it some um some some
042improvement to make it act like the and look like the the the main entrance to the building. And so, um this this project has a breezeway that will be enclosed. There will be some offices that are reconfigured, and ultimately, we bring a single point of entry to this campus, much like many of our other campuses. And so, the method that we're going to use for this particular project is the lease-leaseback method of procurement. Uh I'll just give you a brief overview on that. Uh the lease-leaseback projects are constructed pursuant to Education Code Section 17406, which authorizes school district governing boards to lease property currently owned by district to any person, firm, or corporation for a minimum of a dollar per year, as long as the lease requires that the other party um requires to construct
043or provide for the construction of a building or buildings on the subject property and that title of the property and the buildings vest in the district at the expiration of the lease. So, uh we've used this method before. It's a preferred method for the district. Um and so, there's a couple of components to this. The first component is the selection of the best value contractor. Um again, uh Ed Code Section 17406 was uh tweaked by AB 2313 back in 2017. This requires the selection of a lease-leaseback contractor through a competitive best value ranking process. Um proposals are received that we receive are ranked by a combination of qualifications and price. Um we've gone through this and Diani Building Corp was ranked as the best value contractor for the AHS uh entry security improvements projects. Um
044the scores were following. We had received four bids. Uh Diani Building Corp scored 197, RSH Construction 190, Wysong Construction Company 180, and Edwards Construction Group Incorporated 168. And so, uh the first process for the board is to um to approve Diani as the best value contractor for this project and the recommendation of staff is that um you do so. Are they a local Are they local? I recognize some of the other ones, but are they a lot >> they they they're in Santa Maria. Yeah. Are there any other questions? Um You're looking for a motion? Yeah. Yes. I move that um that we approve this. Uh where am I Yeah, I approve. The uh the the site lease and sub lease between the Atascadero best value contractor >> Oh, best value contractor. >> best value
045contractor >> Thank you. There it is. Sorry. All right, is there a second? >> Thank you, Mrs. Kosneck. Uh roll call vote vote, please. Mrs. Cooley? I abstain. Mrs. Kosneck? Yes. Mrs. Pierce? Yes. Mrs. Taylor? Yes. Mrs. Ellis White? >> Yes. Mr. Arnold? Yes. Thank you. Okay, the second piece of this is to uh speak about the actual contract that the district needs to enter into um uh with Diani Building Corp. And uh this is the lease leaseback contract, which is inclusive of the lease leaseback agreement, the site lease, and the sub lease documents. Um this lease leaseback agreement is based on a lump sum. There's another mechanism, a fee-based. This particular one is the lump sum proposal, uh and the uh total sub lease amount is $1,111,670. Uh the lease leaseback agreement, the site
046lease, and the sub lease documents are provided uh by the district's counsel, Wilson Smith Attorneys at Law, uh and they're updated to comply with current California laws, and I believe a copy of that is presented as board backup. Uh the recommendation for uh from staff is that the Board of Trustees approves the lease leaseback agreement, the site lease, and the sub lease between the Atascadero Unified School District and Diani Building Corp. for the AHS uh entry security improvements project. Are Are any questions? If If not, I have some questions. If this is appropriate time. Can you talk about this entry security improvement project um in the backup, there's some language about parking um But this is just for that that front office, right? >> Yes. Yeah, the parking is the immediately adjacent to that part
047to the to the front entry. There some of it gets slightly modified as a result of the uh the building that's taking place on the outside of the building. Okay. Yes. And does this project include the HVAC um for that building or does it not? Great question. We originally intended to uh piggyback a a much larger uh HVAC project on this particular building. We We chose to remove that component from this project. Um >> [clears throat] >> There are some laws happening in the HVAC world that are are um We We think it would be go We wanted to pivot and go back to the drawing board to see if there was something that would be a little bit more economical and efficient for us to utilize for that particular building. Okay. So we removed
048that. Although, because we're adding some new spaces, there is still some HVAC components. We're still going to cool the spaces that we intend to build. But does the HVAC uh generators are not operating efficiently in in that building? >> It's just the the system is antiquated. It's the original equipment that was built when the building was there. Okay. Uh there's an independent uh heating system that we heat from a boiler, and then there's the um condensing units and air handlers that we use to push air through through that building. And it just, you know, like most things, they they fail over time, and that one is failing. Okay. Um My other question was um I was a little I looked back at our um discussion about the bond and Kitchell's um how they prioritize the
049projects and they put it provided an estimate and I got excited because they had estimated this project to be 2 million and I thought, "Wow, we have like a 1 million, so we have, you know, some savings, but um it doesn't seem like that that's the case. Uh the HVAC is going to be a another project that we're going to have to look at. Yeah, however, it may be that the the uh equipment or the method that we utilize the cool building may be more efficient and cost effective. So, we'll still we'll still ultimately need to address that, but at this moment in time we're we're kicking on. Okay. And then my last question is about the funding source. So, this says it's it's coming out of the our B24 bond. Um yet we haven't
050formally discussed um prioritizing which projects we're going to be um kind of you you know, tackling with the bond funds. And I know this has been in the pipeline and this is, you know, definitely a priority for us. Um but I just maybe would like an update about what when we'll have that discussion about the bond and projects to prioritize what what projects so that we make sure we address the needs that we need to. Um And so, I just you know, this is the first project of the bond, right? Um So, I don't know if you can answer that or I'll steal a quick glance at Ms. Donnell [clears throat] because she probably wants to handle this. Yes. I'll I'll jump in. So, that's a multi-part question. Um so, we're going to bring back
051at our April discussion meeting um another conversation about the bond similar to what we did. Um you're right, this project has been in the pipeline for a long time. We were always slated to use state matching funds. Um we do have a uh imminent deadline to spend down bond funds. Um so, the idea is that we can utilize bond funds to spend down and then we can supplement with the state matching funds that we had already set aside if projects warranted in the future. But in an effort to start spending down our 40 million that has that deadline, um, this was already a project that was approved in the the will of the board, so we're pushing it through for that reason. What's the deadline? We have a 3-year spend down deadline. Um, the end
052of this June will be the end of year one. >> Right. And that's because we got the subcommittee together and that started the clock. Well, you know, the oversight Yeah, what Yeah, what started the clock was the passage of those resolutions. Correct. >> Okay. Thank you very much. Are there any other questions? If not, could I get a motion to approve, um, item 13B, lease leaseback contract, entry security improvement project? I'll make the motion to approve it. Thank you, Mrs. Taylor. Is there a second? I'll second. Thank you, Mrs. >> Thank you, Mrs. Ellis-White. Roll call vote, please. Mrs. Taylor? Yes. Mrs. Koznick? Yes. Mr. Arnold? Yes. Mrs. Conley? I recuse my vote. Mrs. Ellis-White? >> Yes. Mrs. Pierce? Yes. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Item 13C. Mrs. Darnell? Thank you, Trustee Pierce. So,
053this is a triannual item. We re-engage with our auditing firm every 3 years. Um, our engagement letter with Eide Bailly includes the audit of our general fund and all of the money that are encompassed within and then also will be auditing our measure B funds. Um, the associated costs were provided for the trustees. Um, again, this is a three-year engagement with our auditing firm Eide Bailly. The recommendation is that the Board of Trustees um, approve for the engagement of these services. Okay, any questions? Yeah, I was just going to the it's the same firm that we had used in the past. I noticed Eide Bailly. Yes, so we've been um, partners with Eide Bailly for a number of years. They provide auditing services for us and for a number of districts within our county. And
054we use them obviously because they're expensive, but everybody is and they've done a good job, so that's why we're choosing them. Yeah, they're really great partners. So in addition to providing our auditing services throughout the year when I reach out or technology or educational services, they're always there to support us. Um, so that along the way we can build um, strong documents so that when the auditing process comes, it's it's a nice and smooth and easy one. Okay. And we had done three years previously. Yeah, so we every engagement is three a three-year engagement. Are there any other questions? No. Is there a motion to approve the um, engagement of Eide Bai- Eide How do you say that? Eide Bailly. Sorry. Eide Bailly for auditing services? I move to approve. I second. Thank you. Roll
055call vote, please. Mrs. Taylor? Yes. Mrs. Koznek? Yes. Mr. Arnold? Yes. Mrs. Ellis-White? Yes. Mrs. Pierce? Yes. Mrs. Conley? Yes. Thank you. All right, next is the transportation plan and handbook. Yes, so I'll invite up our assistant director of support services overseeing transportation, James, in the event that there are any questions. Um we're bringing forward the transportation plan and handbook. If the trustees recall, this will be an annual item to be approved on or before April 1st of every year. Um this supports us in qualifying for the additional transportation funds. Um this particular transportation plan {slash} handbook, uh you'll notice is um bigger than what was brought forward last year. So, what we did was we worked with transportation um and took all of the policies that existed in different places, so in the annual
056notification to parents, in the transportation plan, and we put them all in one comprehensive document, which would support the district in having a a total handbook that is reflective of all of the practices. So, um most of the items included in there are not new. Uh what is new is the addition of the SB 88, which was um a new law that passed. So, those items are different. Um if there are any questions, I'll allow James. Are there any questions? No, it was just nice to have all of the um everything in one document. Agreed. I think that was a good choice cuz this is one one binder, one book. >> Yes. Before there was three scattered and yeah, this is very clean. Are we going to post once we adopt this, will this be
057posted? Yes, so for tonight it's for information only to give the trustees an opportunity to engage um with the department to see if there were any questions. It'll be brought back on March 17th as a consent item, um and then it'll be posted. Okay, thank you. Mhm. I do have a question about um the data collection and reporting. I didn't realize that we do that Um and I just wondered how how do we um collect data on the number of students that are being transported and if we are able to identify if they're like, you know, these special subgroups that we have like low income and so forth. It's mostly basically we have it broken into special ed and regular ed. Um monthly we do regular ed audits. So we'll do actually student counts by
058route AM and PM separately. Um and we vary them through the month so sometimes it'll be the beginning of the month, sometimes the middle of the month, sometimes the end of the month. So we can get a broad spectrum of of the actual counts. Um special ed we we do an attendance sheet daily so we know what they're Um I don't have the data or collect the data for the um uh McKinney-Vento or any of the other groups that we we monitor. So. Thank you. Um All right, is there any anything else? All right, and I I did notice the tremendous amount of work and I loved this um handbook that you've put together. It shows that it was a lot of work and and effort was put into it cuz it's very thorough and
059so I appreciate your work and Miss Yulobar- Yuloberry's work as well. Appreciate it. Thank you. Yeah. All right. Thank you. >> [clears throat] >> All right, uh then we are at Human Resources, Mrs. Arguin. Good evening. My first item is a resolution um 11-25-26 for the trustees to um meet their meet our necessary deadline by March 15th um as far as a resolution to notify that these two employees will um are non-re-elected. All right. Do I have a motion to approve resolution 11-25-26? I motion to approve. Thank you, Mrs. Taylor. Is there a second? Thank you, Mrs. Cooney. Roll call vote, please. Mr. Arnold? Yes. Mrs. Koznick? Yes. Mrs. Pierce? Yes. Mrs. Taylor? Yes. Mrs. Ellis-White? Yes. Mrs. Cooney? Yes. Thank you, trustees. Resolution 12-25-26. We are asking for you all to approve this new
060individual who holds Excuse me, who holds a license in speech language pathology and audiology audiology and a master's degree to be a part of our organization. And the name was provided to you in the board packet. Yes, thank you. Mhm. Are there any questions or is there a motion? I'll move to approve. Thank you, Mrs. Koznick. Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Mrs. Cooney. Roll call vote vote, please. Mrs. Ellis-White? Yes. Mrs. Cooney? Yes. Mrs. Taylor? Yes. Mrs. Koznick? Yes. Mr. Arnold? Yes. Mrs. Pierce? Yes. Thank you. My last item for this evening is to have the trustees consider a continued partnership. As you know, we partner with a lot of universities so that we could have student teachers and such join our organization. And our Point Loma Nazarene University agreement was up and
061so we looked at that. We did some revising. We had both contracts kind of saw what any changes that were necessary. Everything looked great. And so I was hoping that I would recommend to all of you to approve the student teaching contract between our district any student at Point Loma Nazarene University. Yeah, how many um agreements do we have with different universities? I would have to check with the man on that. There's several just because there's so many opportunities for uh student teachers and such to go through an online program so they need to come and hit the ground and start doing their work um in a school district. Um a lot of those universities also have hybrid so maybe some of their classes are at the actual university and some are online. Um so
062if you want that information, I'm happy to provide it. I just need to check with Amanda. Yeah, no, I was just I was just curious cuz like I don't know they come up every year every couple years or something like that and I hadn't seen this one before or maybe I did but I I didn't remember it so I'm glad that we have that we've got kind of a bigger pool to to fish from so to speak. Absolutely Trustee Kozik. It's nice to have a pool and we want to partner with the different universities to accept student teachers to come in and our goal would be for them to stay and have a recruitment piece after they finish their coursework and finish whatever it may be in their credentialing. So yes, I will say really
063quickly though that as these contracts come up, you know, these were someone the former assistant superintendent who had been here for a long time. Kirk I was here. A lot of those are kind of coming up for renewal. So this was one of those that came up and then of course I'm always checking language to see if anything has changed or if I need to reach out to the university for additional information if the contract have questions or something has changed. There's no questions. I'll move to approve that one. Yes. Thank you Mrs. Kozik. Is there a second? >> Thank you, Mrs. Taylor. Roll call vote, please. Mrs. Pierce? Yes. Mrs. Ellis-White? Yes. Mrs. Taylor? Yes. Mrs. Coonley? Yes. Mr. Arnold? >> Yes. Mrs. Koznik? Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And then we
064have uh item 16, board policy, first reading. Thank you. Um as you know, we're continuing to be able to work our way through board policies that need revision. Um we're looking to be able to do these in phases, as you know, and so this is the first set that really comes are the second set that really comes out of our uh board policy subcommittee. The uh board policies are listed and just wondering if there are any questions. Does anybody have any um policies that they have want to identified and have questions on? Okay. So then these will be coming forward then for second reading at our next uh at our next board meeting. >> Wonderful. Can I just acknowledge all the work that uh Veronica has put put in? I mean, she's spending hours and
065hours and hours on these and makes our job easier. So, thank you very much. Thank you, Mrs. Koznik. All right. Uh the announcement is our next meeting is on Tuesday, March 17th, 2026. Closed session is at 5:30, regular session is at 7:00 p.m. And with that, I will adjourn the meeting. Thank you, everyone for coming.