9/11/25 Regular Board Meeting - Duarte USD

001test test. All right. Good evening, Dardi community. Thank you very much for coming this evening. Uh we'll go ahead and call this regular meeting of the Darti Unified School District Board of Education to order at 7:08 p.m. We'll start out with our roll. Oh. Yes, thank you very much. Uh, so I just want to report out um action resulting from our close session. The board just returned from close session and while in close session, the board took action on the final settlement agreement and general release dated August 25th, 2025 between parents and district in student virtual education. Due process case 0 a case number 2025 06138. Uh it was moved by board member Reyes, seconded by board member Hasso and it was passed unanimously 40. Yes. Oh yes. Thank you very much. Please. Thank you

002very much, board member. Uh, all right. So, now we can move on to our regularly scheduled board meeting. So, we'll start out with a roll call. Uh, we are missing board member Diaz for today. Uh, but board member Finley, that's myself, present. Board member Hoggin >> here. >> Board member Hasso >> here. Board member Reyes >> here. >> All right. And we're >> somebody >> we're Yes. And uh I guess we also have I guess soon to be inducted uh board student board member Alexa Sana. Um and we're actually going to get a sneak peek of her before she's officially sworn in uh because she'll be doing our flag salute. So Alexis, please take it away. >> Please stand for the pledge of allegiance. Face the flag. Put the right put your right hand over

003your heart. Ready? Begin. >> I aliance 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. >> All right. Thank you very much, Alexis. All right. Now, we'll move on to our beliefs, vision, and mission. And I have asked Dr. Laura Hasso to go ahead and do that for us. >> Our beliefs. We believe we are a community of learners. We believe learning occurs in a culture of caring and respect. We believe all students are motivated to learn when they are engaged in meaningful work that connects to their lives. We believe expectations do influence performance and outcomes. We believe learning increases when there are high expectations for performance and conduct. We believe we have

004the responsibility to find solutions that enable all students to learn. Our vision 21st century schools producing 21st century students and our mission provide the knowledge, skills, and inspiration for each student for success in college, career, and life. >> Excellent. Thank you very much, Dr. Hoso. All right. Now, we'll move on to the adoption of the agenda. >> So moved. >> Motion by board member Reyes. >> Second. Second by board member Hasso. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say I. >> I. >> All right, that passes 4. All right, Dr. Hillman, we're moving on to a very special moment. >> At this time, I'd like to um we're going to go down to the the floor here and I'm going to be uh having our new student board member from Darty High School. Um

005we're going to administer the oath of office. Alexis Salana and I are going to come down here. and board will join us so we can take a picture. >> All right, gonna be over here. So, is this one good? You have your own copy. Very good. So, Alexis, raise Salana, raise your right hand for the office of educa uh board of education. I, Alexis, do solemnly affirm >> I, Alexis >> that I will support and defend >> I will support and defend >> the Constitution of the United States >> of the United States >> and the Constitution of the State of California >> against all enemies, foreign and domestic. >> against all enemies, foreign and domestic. >> That I will bear true faith and allegiance. to the Constitution of the United States >> of the

006United States >> and the Constitution of the State of California >> that I take this obligation freely >> That I take this obligation >> without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion >> without any reservation or purpose of evasion. And that I will well and faithfully >> And then I will faithfully >> discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter. >> You did it. Congratulations. [Applause] Oh, okay. All right. Thank you very much. Welcome, Alexis. We're very excited to have you serving alongside. All right. Uh we can now go ahead and move on to item number 10, which is uh our presentation section. So, Dr. Hillman, would you like to go ahead and introduce our first presenter? Absolutely. Coming up to the podium is Miss Tiffany Bell, our assistant superintendent of business services

007and she will be doing the presentation on our Unified School District's unudited actuals financial reports for the fiscal year 202425. Miss Bell. >> Thank you. Good evening board. I will be presenting to you the unodudited actuals for the fiscal year 2425. My eyes are a little blurry so talk a little slower. So your unodudited actuals are a comp comprehensive overview of our district's financial performance reporting requirements and budget cycle and this context will be for the fiscal year 2425. Next slide please. So what are unodudited actuals? They represent primarily I'm I'm sorry preliminary financial summary of Dart's fiscal performance for the year ending June 30th, 2025. The report is a critical comprehensive financial snapshot before the audit. Documents are all actual revenues received and expenditures made during the year. Serves as a essential accountability tool

008for district stakeholders. So in essence, the unodited actuals is what we actually received and what we actually spent. No more guessing. This is the what happened. Next slide, please. So the unodudited actuals fit in the budget cycle after July 1st and then we come to you in September and then we come again to you in December for first in a row. Next slide. These are the components of the un audited actuals. Our final revenue and expenditure statements detailed accounting of all funds received and spent during the fiscal year. our actual fund balances and our restricted fund disclosures um reporting our educational protection account and other restricted funding usage. So the comparison to the adopted budget the unactual the unodudited actuals reveal how closely the district's financial performance aligned with our projections. So again our budget

009says what we think is going to happen and then our unodudited actuals is actually what happened. So this will include our state funding allocations, your LCFF adjustments, any property tax revenues, your staffing and salary expenditures, special education costs, facility and maintenance expenses. This is all fund one. There's variances between your mid-year budget adjustments and future planning. So our midyear is when we usually look at second inter. So there'll be comparisons to that. Next slide please. Why they matter? It's important to show transparency and accountability. It provides an early warning system so we can start adjusting and know what to do moving forward towards first interim and how we start adjusting the budget based upon what happened. So in 2024, FICMAT did a fiscal health um analysis and in that fiscal health analysis, it would provided

010areas of requiring improved fiscal controls, critical importance of accurate financial reporting, recommendations for sustainable financial management, and this helped us along the way. And if if anyone took a chance to read the FICMAT report, there's 20 areas of concern that are outlined not just for us, but that's how they do it. They look at 20 different areas. The areas include all aspects of the educational field, which would includes the budget, collective bargaining agreements, employee benefits, audit, facilities, enrollment, attendance, it sped, and so on. So there's different categories. It's just not solely the budget. So the role of unodudit actuals is to a fiscal reality check, a planning tool and student centered decision-making. So we look at our money based upon the needs of our students and work accordingly. So this is the part we've all

011been waiting for. So this is your budget from June of 2425. So that would have been last year. The difference in the middle will be your projected year which would be second interim. the difference. Then we look at the difference from second interim to the unodudited actual. So what it's showing you is what we said was going to happen. It shows you how it happened throughout the year and where we ended up. So if you look read across your revenues at the unodudited actual I'm sorry at your adopted budget we estimated because remember the adopted budget is an estimation of what we think will happen is $51 million. Um then the difference between $51 million and projected what was going on at second interim. So that means more additional funds came in. So there was

012a difference about we gained another $2 million. And then if you look at the projected year from second interim to your unodudited actuals what we really received there's another $1 million difference in ref revenues. Sorry. So your expenditures adopted budget we were at about $56 million what we estimated the difference was we were pretty much on point between your difference between adopted budget and your projected year about $533,000 and then we went under from your second interim until your unodudited about a negative $174. So then if you look at your um deficit your deficiencies and revenues from your adopted budget we started off with a negative $4.4 4 million. The difference then was your projected year at second interim of negative $2 million. So that says we made some improvements because you see the deficit

013started going down. And then you see from second interim into the unodudited actuals, but now our deficit in that areas is negative $900,000. So before when we started adopted budget, we were about $4 million. So during the year we made adjustments and now our deficit is about $900,000. Our beginning balance is where we end up. So your beginning balance is what your ending balance was at that time. So that's what brings you to the beginning balance. So it was $26 million. The difference then at second interim was about 29 million and it stayed there. Then our ending balance for the adopted budget again a guess was $22 million. By second interim our ending balance was really $18 million which we were difference about $3 million. Then we came back up and then we had a

014difference between $18 million, I'm sorry, $18 million as second interim and increase by $9 million and our unodited actuals then ended at $28 million for our ending balance. So what happened in our revenues? So our local control funding um revenue increased by at least $1.2 million. And the reason because of that at the budget we said that our upp count we budgeted for about 61% but when we closed the books we came in at about 72%. So our upp count increased with this is based on our three-year average. Our federal revenues decreased from $2.9 million to 14 $1.4 million approximately $ 1.5 million. So there was a decrease because um there was money taken away from the SULPA. Um we had money taken away for sped mental health allocations that went down. Some of our

015titles were received but not actually recorded. So those are the increase the decreases in federal revenue. Our state revenue increased by approximately $1.7 million. We noticed increases in our lottery fund. There was a drop in in our IPI grant. Our ELOP grant increased by about $700,000. So what you see is that our money kind of fluctuates and it balances each other out where we lost and we increase and then we decrease. So we still end up kind of flat. So then your local revenues we increased by about $2.3 million. We had an increase mainly. So a lot of that was from our charter oversight by about $97,000. Some of the rest of it was our cash in our treasury and the interest. So our contribution, so this is what we pay out. So our total

016fund balance um an unrestricted general fund increased from $14.5 million to $21.78, which is usually approximately about $7 million. So but although we gained money, then we contributed $ 8.7 million to sped. So again, you see like a wipeout. So we got and then we put back out and then another 2.3 for our routine maintenance. We contributed also another 300,000 in rout routine maintenance. Next slide. General fund unrestricted expenditure changes. So this again is what we budgeted and what was what was um proven at unodudited actuals. And you see the difference. And so what you'll see going across your certificated salaries um the difference was about 1.6 six uh% negative $325,000 classified salaries we were actually increased on our unodudited actuals by 4.2%. Our employee benefits um we went down from at unudited actuals from

017your budget by 1.28%. Books and supplies decreased by 5.65%. Our services and operating expenditures were 13 million at budget but un audited we spent about 14 million which was an increase by maybe 6.3%. Capital outlay stayed the same. Other outgoes transfers um increased I'm sorry decrease by 25%. And your total expenditures at budgeted we said 56 million395 unodudited was 56754 with 64. I think that's pretty good if I say so myself. The unudited actuals report provides a comprehensive summary of all of our district funds have ended after all transactions for the fiscal year have been recorded and accounted for. A structural deficit remains at $996,000 with 350,000 of that being unrestricted. Our revenues came in higher than expected but then our contributions were higher than expected. We had a decrease in certificated salary due to

018attrition and retirement. We had a decrease in clerical support and reduction in extra duties. Um a stepping column and workers comp rates significantly increased. Next step, we request that the board approve our unodudited actuals for fiscal year 2425. Submit it to LEO and then we will see you again at first interim budget update in December. Are there any questions board? All right. Thank you very much, Miss Bell, for this presentation. Board, I will open it up to you all to go ahead and ask any questions that you may have. >> I just have a clarifying question. I want to make sure that I'm looking at this correctly. It's the budget versus actuals, the three-point comparison. >> And so our 2425 budget, we started with a 4.4 4 well $4.5 million deficit four4 million474. >> Yes,

019ma'am. >> And then over the course of the year, we ended up reducing that deficit down to just under a million dollars. Is that right? >> Yes, ma'am. >> Okay. I thought so, but I didn't want to start celebrating and be off there. Okay. All right. And kind of on that same note, too, you just mentioned Hold on. Where did I put it? um the general fund unrestricted expenditure that 064%. Like that's some good math. Um and last fall we were in really hot water with the findings that were presented from the FICMAT and then the recommendations that came with that from school services. And so um it's good to see that we're not just perpetuating this big deficit and that we're closing that gap. Um so thanks. You're welcome. >> Other questions or comments

020from the board? >> I I do have uh a quick question. Uh so, thank you very much for this presentation and pulling this together. Um I do I I want to echo what Dr. Hasso mentioned with the the structural deficit being shrunk. That's that's great. Um, how repeatable is that? Um, I mean, I'm assuming some some of that was maybe lowhanging fruit, but I mean, is is that something that um I I guess I can't imagine that we can regularly find a way to trim, you know, two and a half to three million dollars every year. >> Yes. So, so yes, yes, it's repeatable or yes, that's going to be difficult to do that again. >> So, I take all challenges, so it could be difficult, but um seriously, it's just a work in progress

021every day. So, I can't say, "Oh, yeah, it's 900,000. It's going to go away." because then when I come back at first and it's back to two million, you're going like, you said. No. Um, it's a work in progress every day. It's patience and it's looking at taking the time to look at all things, not just, you know, a lot of people when they tell you to adjust your budget, the first thing they want you to do is to lay off your staff. That's not what we want to do. So, we want to look at our services. We want to look at, you know, they they I tell you all the time, they make jokes about me in the water, you know, like, you know, they um there's things there's, you know, we did a

022big thing. We were paying $2 million in overtime and we looked at that and we shrank that down to $1 million because we started saying, "You have to be accountable for this overtime. You have to write it down. You have to request it first if it's necessary. There's different things you need to put in order to make sure these process continue." Um, we look at all things. I mean, you know, it's just not looking at people. We don't want to look at people. We have to at a certain point, but we want to get the low low hanging fruit. What can we actually adjust? And so with that, this becomes the the deficit begins to shrink. Now, my goal is to get it where there is no deficit, $900,000. If we can move from four

023to two to 900, it seems like, of sure, we can get it over to the other side. And that's my goal and that's my challenge. Okay. Yeah. I mean, I think that's a laudable goal. I mean, it's this is I think a huge step in the right direction and um I think it's it's great that um you know, we we've when I say we talking about the royal we here. Um that that that was able to be identified and and that much money was able to be pulled out of the structural deficit. Um my my other question is uh that number that is uh on the far uh far right the far the the lower right corner the 28.5 million there. So what what does that number represent? Is that what is left over? Is

024that money that's sort of already allocated towards other things? What what is that number represent? So remember um all your balances, all your columns are unrestricted and restricted. So sometimes in its simplicity I'm just going to show you the total. So I can show you separated what this 28 $28 million is. And probably most of it would be restricted. And so if you need that breakdown, we can do that next time for you. But the $28 million would be both unrestricted and restricted. So sometimes when people see $28 million, they like, we got $28 million. >> Yes. I also got excited. >> Yeah. Yeah. Me, too. But then you look like, uh, really, you only got 10 million. >> Okay. >> So, it's if it's not already allocated for certain things, so I can break

025that out further if you'd like. >> Okay. Great. Thank you very much, Tiffany or Miss Bell. I appreciate that. >> You're welcome. Miss Bell, um, >> do you happen to know what our loss for ADA was >> for the >> last year for this last school year? >> The actual amount of money. >> ADA. Yes. The actual amount of money. >> I'd have to go back and look. But if you're asking was it based on the 100? >> Yes. I'm asking if it was significant. >> Oh, I'm going to give you the C. So if you're asking like say we said we lost 100 students. >> No, no, no, no. I'm talking about kids in the seat. the actual number >> in in other words did did we lose a million I was told we

026lost a million or a million and a half >> because of absenteeism >> so let me do >> that's why I was trying to explain it >> you keep track of that >> yeah we keep track of it to a certain there different pieces so let me explain it the way I think I'm hearing you so if we say that we lost a hundred students right so when we do the budget in June when we're going forward we're doing what do we think it's going to be? So in June, Dr. Finley asked, "Hey, we're at 100. Do you think we can move this number?" And I'm like, "I think we'll be okay." You know, I think a 100 is what we usually do. So we budget accordingly. So we kind of already budget the loss.

027And so we know that we're going to lose about 100 kids. So that's taken into consideration when we're saying what our revenues are per ADA. So once you see it now, it's like, well, we already budgeted for those 100 kids. So if you're looking like for a number, say for instance, just random a 100 kids ADA is about $13,000 per kid. So you multiply that and you would lose it that way. But we are doing it in the adopted budget and going forward every time we adjust. So we already took into account that we lose about 100 kids on the average. >> Does that make sense? >> Yes and no. >> Okay. And and the reason I'm Go ahead. If I may, and I think I know what the what you're the question you're you're

028kind of driving at is attendance is how we get funded, right? That's right. And so we know and and we want kids in schools because that's that's how they get educated. That's also how we get funded. So there is a calculation that occurs every time a student's absent with the aa is average daily attendance. So to that effect I think you're asking is when we have high levels of attendance what is the financial loss for that is that >> or absenteeism right >> okay and I know we've been talking too internally and we can we can come back and talk about this a little bit more I know some plans for doing some incentives and and getting recovery attendance recovery and that's something we're still going to >> and that and and that's the point

029I'm trying to get is we need to emphasize >> with our parents with the community and again as back to school night Right. And it wasn't shared and it should have been shared. We had a captive audience. Okay. And I think that's really important that we let our parents know and and if they go on vacation, I'm told they could take their work with them. Correct. And we can get credit for that >> in excess of 5 days. Yes. Mhm. As long as they tell us in advance as part of >> Right. But that needs to be shared because a lot of parents don't know that that we can do that. So I I I want to cut that number down, right? Because one one time previously we used to have this um company, we

030hired a company called Attention to Attendance, okay? And we recouped over a million dollars that first year that we used them. And I mean that's a good chunk of change. Okay? And so that's what I would like to see is that we are putting that as one of our priorities because comes down to it bottom line, right? Dollars are important. >> I mean, we know that that's why there's people here in the audience tonight. >> So to add to that, at one point we had um gotten rid of our attendance clerks, but now we have attendance clerks back at the at the school. So that is one of our ways moving forward trying to make sure that attendance is important and that they're making the calls and trying to find out why they have not

031students have not been in school. And that's why you see the increase in classified salaries here or if we did include and we did move back to putting attendance clerks back at the school sites. >> Do we know yet if it's been working? Probably too soon. >> Probably this year. It's probably too soon. We've been >> No, but I mean we should like have a monthly record. I wouldn't think that'd be very difficult to do. >> We'll look at it. >> Okay. Thank you. >> You're welcome. You're welcome. >> All right. Anyone else have any questions or comments for Miss Bell? All right. Well, thank you very much, Miss Bell. We appreciate it. >> You're welcome. Thank you. >> All right. Before we move on to the next presentation, I did want to just take

032a moment to uh recognize uh Mr. Richard Moreno and Valerie Renan that are here from OFY and OFL. Thank you very much for being here to to be uh participant in this discussion. Uh all right, so Dr. Hillman, our next presentation >> at the at this our next presentation will be by um Dr. Kelly Lawson, our senior director of educational services, and she'll be giving a presentation on an item that you're going to be uh considering is the UCLA Center X Mathematics Project, cognitively guided instruction, professional development. Dr. Lawson, >> good evening board. Um so, yes, I'm here to talk to you about um um cognitively guid cognitively guided instruction, professional development. And I want to preface it by saying we know that in order to increase student achievement if we want to make a

033long-term lasting uh impact that we need to directly impact the individuals that are providing that instruction and providing them with tools to put in their tool belt. So our professional development is designed to continue to sharpen the skills of our professionals here in the Dart Unified School District. And so we want to start there because we believe that if we can impact our teaching force, we can have a greater impact on our students, we can have a global impact in terms of addressing and supporting every student in the classroom. So that is ultimately our goal with our professional development. And so last year we were started looking closely at mathematics and consistency is huge if you want to make a difference. And so we don't want to just jump around. So, we're continuing to focus

034on mathematics. Um, and this year I want to I want to present to you um recommendations for the professional development to target math instruction. So, we're looking at um what is cognitively guided instruction? It is a researchbased approach to teaching mathematics. Um the focus is on understanding how students think and how they learn mathematics and it emphasizes student re reasoning and not just procedural skills. So it's not just about basic math facts. It's about getting students to be able to think critically about mathematics. Um, our ESPback data does show that an area two areas that we want to continue to work on in terms of the the claims that are targeted in the assessments is our communication and reasoning which is students ability to reason and talk about what they do in mathematics and then

035the problem solving and the modeling and students ability to do data analysis in the area of mathematics. And we know that that does not happen by just teaching basic facts. It means engaging kids in some serious dialogue about mathematical um math concepts and terms and vocabulary and working with their peers. And so I believe that cognitively guided instruction allows us to be able to do that. It also helps teachers make instructional decisions based on students mathematical thinking. So it's we want to see and hear our students thinking in the classroom so that it can have a long-term impact. So it's not just about taking the test today, but a student's ability to apply those skills long term. So one of the areas that we've been talking about with our math teachers has been we look

036at where our students start out in elementary levels and what happens when they get to high school and how can we ensure that our students are prepared so that when they enter ninth grade mathematics, they have a strong foundation. are able to continue developing their skills and thinking critically and being prepared for the college level mathematics that they we want all of our students to be able to access if that is what they choose to do. Next slide. So why CGI? We want to build those conceptual understandings and problem solving skills for our students. We want to promote equity by valuing and diverse strategies and voices in our math learning. We know that students they think differently and uh we want to give a a place and a space where students are able to share

037their divergent thinking and teachers are able to capitalize on that and that we're able to use that information to help all of our students grow. Um we believe that um CGI will help support the shift from teacher directed instruction to student centered learning. So it's not just a teacher in front. This is not what happens all the time. I'm standing in front of the class presenting information but students are teachers are facilitators of the knowledge and students are uh engaged in learning in in small groups one on um with peers partner learning um just shifting that whole approach. We have started that in our schools. If you go and visit classrooms on our learning walk we do see that happening but we would like to see it on a more global level and more consistently

038in all of our classroom and just want to make sure that we have the ability to do that. Um, CGI also aligns with the state math standards and our district goals that help us to go a little deeper with our learning. And when we think about the math framework, it there's been some shifts in the math framework. It doesn't just look at basic procedural knowledge, but with the math framework, it goes a little bit deeper and really getting kids to get involved in the critical thinking piece and the problem solving piece going beyond procedural skills. And then also YCGI for our district. We want to enhance the knowledge of our teacher strategies, the methods and approaches our educators use to help students understand and engage with content. Another reason why CGI and our district, I

039did a survey at the end of last year to get feedback from our teachers to see what type of professional development they would be interested in. Um, and they did many of them shared that they were interested in the cognitively guided instruction. In addition to that, when we did our learning walks last year, at the end of each of our uh sessions that kept coming up, the teachers that were on the learning walk kept adding um CGI CGI and so we did some researches to find out what was available and we um connected with the UCLA um project center X. So that continue on about why. So we continue to the next slide. What are expected outcomes? We hope that our teachers gain confidence in facilitating facilitating student centered math discussions. Um even in our

040recent learning walks, we in classrooms now we see students engaging in math discourse. We were at a learning walk at Maxwell just recently um observing the math talks in K through fifth grade classrooms. Um we know that it's happening in our in our schools right now. We want to be able to um provide the support so that teachers feel confident and comfortable in in administering and doing that in their classrooms. Uh we want to increase student engagement in their problem solving and perseverance. Our middle school teachers, our high school teachers say our stu we want our students to be able to stick it out. We want them to be able to solve these highle math problems. We want them to be able to solve real world math problems. So we know that it goes beyond

041just wanting them to do that. So you want to figure out how we can all work collaboratively to make that happen with our students. And ultimately one of the expected outcomes is we wanted to improve student achievement in mathematics. We know that mathematics is a gateway. Our students need to be able to perform at a high level with those with mathematics. And so we want to continue to target that. And we believe that by addressing um by targeting this area in professional development, it will make a difference for all of our students. Different there are different entry points for learning when you look at students thinking. And so from our students that are the most challenged academically to the students that um need the most level of support, we can provide that by tapping into

042their thinking and getting them to be able to talk about math, whether it's just a simple number or recognizing basic patterns. And then we um also expecting that there's a stronger alignment with our instructional practices across grade level. So if we're all looking at what cognitively guided instruction looks like in this for kinder through fifth grade, this is the focus is for kinder through fifth grade. I want to state that and so ensuring that we're all on the same page. Um we did do some training this summer. So we have some students some teachers actually take advantage of CGI. So we and we've had teachers in the past at Royal Oaks they have done some training with CGI and the teachers still those who were engaged in the process then still talk about the impact.

043And so it's not something that we're seeing across the district and if it's a practice that's solid and it works we want to be able to uh implement it districtwide to get the support. um so that we're able to use those strategies in our classroom. Next slide. So what is the plan? We're not just talking about a one-time only professional development. So we're looking at K through fifth grade classroom participants and it's a large scale of what we're doing in terms of our professional development this plan for CGI. So there's training that we will provide it to teachers. There will be lesson studies or lab um they call them learning labs and then there's coaching support that also will be a part of this plan. So one it will focus on understanding that student understanding

044students thinking um how to develop the math discourse in the classrooms and then how to design those CGI align lessons. The timeline is October till the end of April. Um I want to stress the funding piece on this because we are using restricted funds and so this is not I want to make that clear. Um we're using um funding from our educator effective effectiveness grant which targets teacher professional development and then also from our um supplemental and concentration grant. We are targeting uh professional development and is also in our LCAP stated in our LCAP. Next slide. So, what are the essential features? It will we have we'll have district check-in meetings. So, each school will be assigned a coach that will work one-on-one with teachers at each of the grade levels. Um, the coaches will

045meet regularly with the site administrators. Um, and their instructional leadership team to kind of talk about the impact of what's happening. Is the coaching working? What are some of the areas where teachers need support? They'll the coaches will be in the classrooms one-on-one real time with teachers working with them so they can actually see where they see opportunities to target CGI in the mathematic instruction and so they can have someone that they can talk to and we were very strategic with this piece and asking with the site administrators we want to make sure that we have support for the teachers that are participating in this. So it is there's professional development that will happen on uh four professional developments. That's for all the staff for K5 one-on-one coaching. Principles are looking to the teachers that

046really really want to participate in that because you can get coaching but you have to be open to receive the coaching and to be able to apply what it is that they're teaching. So we really want to make sure that we have the buyin and the support from the individuals getting the coaches. And so far it's been really great the responses that the administrators have been getting from all levels K5. So, I'm really excited. I believe that this will be um successful. And then learning labs, this is old school. I don't know if for those of us in education, um learning, they call it learning labs now, but it's old school lesson studies, which is basically teachers come together, grade levels come together, they plan particular lessons. They plan them, then they go into the

047classroom, they actually teach the lesson, and then they have feedback from each other. So they have the coach there giving them feedback on oh the strategies that were implemented the opportunities where they could have uh implemented different strategies um how students were responding how they were checking for understanding where they could have asked more questions where could they have increased the exploration and then they come back together and they kind of reflect on that process. So so it's like a plan teach reflect cycle and then the students that are the teachers that are part of those learning labs will have that opportunity to teach and get feedback from their peers. So, we're looking at training teachers um as a whole. We're um looking at allowing teachers to be able to work collaboratively with their team

048so they can learn and grow from each other. And then with the coaches providing that support with monthly meetings with the site administrator so they can track um how well it's working, is this effective or not? Where can we make adjustments? Where do we need to make changes? And then there's also uh four meetings where it's the district check-in levels where I will be a part of those meetings with the site administrator and the coaches from CGI from each of the sites to kind of talk about where we are and the progress so we can really track and monitor to ensure that is directly impacting our math instruction and ultimately it's all about impacting student learning. And I think by kind of taking this robust um approach to the PD it can be something that's

049sustainable and longterm. So, it's not just for one day, but it's for multiple years because we're investing into our team. We're investing into our teacher and building their capacity and and and it's something that it was a of interest. And so, hoping all those things combined will allow us to be able to um move the needle when it comes to our math instruction, our student achievement, and and just our teachers. and hopefully get to the point where we have our own um teachers that are cultures of CGI so that we don't have to go outside of the district, but we can just connect with the individuals that are right here because we have some very talented educators here and leaders that are just waiting to be shoulder tapped to take advantage of that opportunity. So,

050we definitely want to look at that. Um, just to reiterate the goals, this does align with the LCAP goal number one, which is college and career and life, providing equitable access to teaching and learning that improves outcomes for all students and to close that achievement gap. It aligns with action 1.13, which is our focus on professional development. And we want to provide professional development targeted at enhancing teachers knowledge and strategies. On here is English learners. We have it for English learners, for math, and for reading for our low-income English learners, homeless, and foster youth. But ultimately with CGI, every student will be touched in some way. Um, every teacher as well. Next slide. So when you see it, when it gets uh on the agenda, it's that action item coming up for approval. Um, just

051keep this in mind. We want to invest in our CGI professional development because we believe that by investing in our teachers and our students that we're going to enhance the math future success for everyone, all the students here in the district. So questions. >> I have a quick question. >> Yes. >> Um is there a reason that sixth, seventh and eighth graders are not included? >> Yes. So when we looked at our focus last year and the feedback that we got for those that were interested um the level of intervals was was for K5. Um our sixth through 12th grade are working with um Dr. Dr. Kirk with the math literacy the ma the math literacy project and so they're getting their specific training professional development as it relates to culturally responsive instruction in mathematics.

052So um CGI traditionally has been for K5 but they do have a platform for for the secondary level the interest was at K5 and so we wanted to start there because we also know with PD people have to be interested they want to do it so that they could actually take advantage of the learning and apply that in the classroom but we have not left out our middle school or secondary they do have a focus is just through um the culturally responsive instruction piece where they're looking at some of the same things. Um, yes. >> Thank you, Dr. Lawson. >> You're welcome. >> Board, any other questions for Dr. Lawson? >> Um, I not questions, just comments if that's okay. >> Um, just this last slide, I was kind of, you know, jotting down notes.

053And one of the things that really kind of resonated with me is this idea of investing in teacher expertise. And the educational research is really clear. There are things that have high impact because we do a lot in education. We spend a lot of money in education on people and things and some things, you know, you get more bang for your buck and like the number one thing is investing in teacher expertise. And so when we're thinking about math, we have strong teachers out there. We have, you know, talented professionals, but when you have a shift in your math framework, um, that might come naturally to somebody. I remember shifting to common core math. I'm not a mathematician. that did not come naturally to me. And you know when we went away from like the

054kind of computational and problem you know the computational and calculation and you know ABCD I really had to shift my practice um as an educator at the time. And so you know when we think about where we're putting our funding at on the budget looked like $2.7 million was going to books and supplies. I don't know how much of that goes to curriculum, but curriculum doesn't teach kids. Teachers teach kids. And so I appreciate the robust approach. So it's not just one and done PD. It's not drive by PD. Some of the terminology that we use, but it's really comprehensive and it includes that coaching aspect. And we know the data says that we need to improve our outcomes for our students. And that's our goal as a district. And we could tie that to

055budget even, right? And so when we think about attracting students to our families, the data just tells one part of the story, but it's the story that's told to the public. And if we're going to get more kids back here, we need to have competing data. And I think this is really promising. So thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Uh yes, Dr. Lawson, thank you very much for for this presentation. I I did um I was very happy to hear that there's sort of a a plan in place to have, you know, this professional development that will be long-term and then, you know, those those teachers that go through the training will then be able to train others uh with within our district. So, it's it's really kind of extending the the benefit of this

056of this training that's going to happen. So, I think that's really a move in the right direction. And I like that a lot. Um, one one question that I did have is just and and I I don't need, you know, the exact way it's going to happen, but just logistically, how does this work? I mean, are are teachers being trained while they're in the classroom or are they pulled away and then subs are working with the students or how how does this kind of work? So for the the four professional developments, those are those will be conducted on Thursdays. And on the days that we they have the professional development training on the Thursdays, the coach that will be that's assigned to the school will go to the site on that day and work um

057in the classroom with the teachers one-on-one. So teachers will not be pulled out for that. for the lesson studies or the learning labs. With that one, it will require that we have guest teachers on site so that we can pull grade levels out to get that training during the day because they're they're planning they're they're teaching and then they're going to have that reflection. That whole action cycle needs to take place and it will be happening at our different sites. So, we have to be very strategic with the planning and the scheduling so that we can ensure that we have enough guest teachers on site. Um it will be according to grade level. So based upon the size of our schools and the number of teachers that we have at a grade level, we'll be

058trying to we'll work with two grade levels at at a time. So like kinder, first grade, second and third, fourth and fifth. Um so that those teachers can collaborate, work together, and get their um they do their learning labs. That will happen three times in the year. The coaching will happen four times in a year. The monthly meetings with the leadership team will happen once a month and those will be virtual meetings. And then with the district team, it will be four meetings and those will be virtual meetings. So, it's going to be a nice, you know, very strategic, but the good thing is um that each school will be assigned a coach. So, we're not trying to all pull. They won't be all trying to pull and do it on the same day. So,

059there'll be a lot of planning, a lot of collaboration involved so that we can have proper coverage and that our teachers can spend that time really working and learning from each other and learning from the coach. >> Excellent. All right. Thank you very much. Any other comments or questions from the board? >> All right, Dr. Lawson, thank you so much for sharing uh this presentation with us. >> You're welcome. Thank you. >> And and just before we uh continue, I did also want to recognize uh two other VIPs that are in the room. uh Miss Heather Mesner, who is our DOEA president, [Applause] and then uh Jennifer Santana, who's the board president for the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District. [Applause] All right. I believe now we can move on to item number 11.

060Who uh I guess will be done by our brand new uh B or student board rep, Alexis Sana. >> Um good evening everyone. I'm Alexis Sana and I'm honored to speak on behalf of DHY High School student body. These past few weeks back on campus have been amazing and we are so excited to be back. The month of August was filled with welcoming moments to our students on campus. We hosted our annual blue wave rally um back to school night and club rush. Club rush was a great chance for students on campus to sign up for various clubs that our school has to offer. Um it gave our student body a large variety of opportunities that they can venture into this school year. Our fall sports have officially started their season and athletes are so

061thrilled for our new gym to open. This upcoming week is our Hispanic Heritage Month acknowledgement. We're having a spirit week with games, salsa tasting, and a live mariachi band. DHY High School's homecoming dance is on October 11th, and the theme is the book of life. On Friday, October 10th, this will be our homecoming football game, and we will crown and recognize the homecoming court. Saturday, October 11th is the dance and so far we have sold over 250 homecoming tickets. Our annual food booth is on October 30th and it is a great opportunity for clubs on campus to sell goods for the student body and fund raise money to support future finances. As this is just the beginning, we are so excited to see what the school year will offer Dory High School. Thank you. >>

062Thank you so much, Alexis. All right. Uh, as usual, we have got lots going on at Darti High School. So, thank you very much for sharing that with us. All right, Dr. Helman, we'll turn some time over to you for the superintendence report. >> Very good. Thank you. Good evening, board, staff, and community. Um, welcome, Alexis. Well done on your first uh uh report. I know you're going to do a great job with the board. Um, the school is in full swing. School year is in full swing now. Um although our current enrollment is lower than it at this time last year, we've been actively reaching out to families whose students have not returned to determine their plans, we found in many CA cases, families have moved out of the area or made other educational

063choices. Um we've also seen a considerably smaller kindergarten class compared to last year, which pretty much aligns with what the demographic report and local census data told us. Um but in the meantime, we're excited with the new school year. um back to school nights were well attended and our schools are setting into their routines and I do want to thank the staff um students and families for making the opening of the school year uh so smooth and welcoming. I've had the chance to visit camp campuses regularly um to observe teaching and learning firsthand. Most recently, I participated in a learning walk that uh Dr. Dr. Lawson was talking about on math instruction alongside our district leaders and other teachers. Um these visits continue to inform our instructional priorities and support um for teachers and students.

064Um we are thrilled to announce that the official opening of our brand new gym, a milestone in the making. We're we're celebrating with a ribbon cutting ceremony of the Kenneth Bell Gymnasium on September 20th. and the very first DHS volleyball game will take place there the following week. This beautiful facility is more than just a gym. It's a hub for student athletics, school spirit, and community pride. We invite everyone to take take uh come share in the excitement and see firsthand how this space will benefit our students for years to come. Uh thank you for your ongoing support as we all work together to provide the best educational services, sorry, educational experience for our students. I will likely have more to say at the end of the meeting. So, this will conclude my report for

065now. Thank you. >> All right. Thank you very much, Dr. Helman. We will hold you to those extra comments at the end. Uh, all right. I think we can now move on to item number 13, which is request to address the board. And I do see that we have several this evening. So, we can go ahead and start those. Dr. Hillman. >> Yes. I will call each person up to the mic. You have three minutes. We'll have a timer set up here and forgive me now if I don't pronounce your name quite correctly, but I would like to invite Ramon Cardinis up to the podium. >> I'm sorry. >> Here. So, he he has to defer to someone. >> Ah, okay. So, just so you want you don't you're not yielding your time. You just

066would like to go in a different order. >> Okay. Thank you. >> You don't want to go first. I get um then let's try Katherine Vasquez. >> Good evening. Thank you. And >> I put a public comment card for President Sant. >> Yes. Do you want Jennifer Santana to go first? >> Yes. >> Okay. Well, we're gonna This is gonna be Jennifer Santana's time. We're gonna have three minutes. >> Thank you so much. Good evening. Good evening, board president. Good evening, board members. Thank you so much for the warm welcome. It's a pleasure to be here. I am Jennifer Santana. I serve as board pre president representing division 5 for the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District, also known as Upper Water. and I'm here today to provide you with a brief overview of

067Upper Water and to share some resources available to your teachers and students as we begin the new school year. Upper Water is the regional water wholesaler for 18 cities and 26 retailers across the San Gabriel Valley. Our primary responsibility is to provide imported water to the region while promoting sustainable solutions that help our communities use water more efficiently. We operate as a member agency of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and are governed by a five member elected board of directors. I serve division 5. I represent division five which includes Irwindale, Baldwin Park, and Elmont. So, we're here tonight because Upper Water is committed to educating youth about water conservation by developing programs that increase students water knowledge through creative hands-on activities in science-based curriculum. We have some great programs available for your students

068and teachers. And on a personal note, my division, division 5, utilizes these resources the least out of all the five districts. And I would absolutely love if uh students at Dardi Unified School District were to take advantage of these great programs. And with that, I'm going to turn it over to our water resources analyst, Katherine Vasquez, who will provide an overview of the educational programs we offer to your teachers and students. Thank you. >> Thank you, Board President Santana. Good evening, board president and board members. I am Cat Vasquez with the Upper St. Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District. So, as she mentioned, we do have amazing programs and resources that we do have currently for your students and your teachers. And I'm going to go over them quickly with you. So, our efforts include the

069water education grant program where teachers can apply for up to $1,000 for K through 12th grade classroom or school projects that help students have a better understanding of water and the important role it plays in Southern California. Our grant applications are now available on our website and the deadline to apply is October 31st. The Discovery Cube in Los Angeles offers uh free water education assembly presentations to K through 7th grade classes within our service area. We also provide transportation grants to cover bus travel and museum admission costs. And this program runs all year round. Our watershed restoration program in partnership with the US Forest Service welcomes volunteers of all ages to plant trees or participate in trash cleanups in the San Gabriel Mountains. During these activities, participants learn the importance of protecting our local watershed

070and students may earn community service hours. Our two events will be held on Saturday, October 18th and November 8th from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Our Being Water Wise is student art contest, which is run by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, is an annual program inviting K through 12th grade students to create artwork that delivers a water conservation message and reminds us the importance of protecting water in our communities. And this contest will reopen next week. And lastly, the Metropolitan Water District has created the Water Engineering for Good program, which is an online STEM competition for middle school through high school students. Teams are mentored by water industry professionals to create physical models of their engineering projects. And this will open early of this year um or in the fall. And then before

071I leave, I'll provide you with some flyers about our educational programs and resources along with my our business cards. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker will be Andrew Phil. Good evening, Andrew. You have three minutes. >> Good evening, president and board members. Uh, my name is Andrew Th and I'm a proud DUA member. I currently teach fifth grade at Beardsley Dual Language Academy. I'm also the negotiations lead for the uh, union. As you should know, the educators in this district have been working without a contract since the first day of school. DOUA and community members support our proposals to attract and retain quality educators. How do we know? We know because 97% of our members signed a postcard to you that

072reads, "As a DUA member, I asked DUA's board of education to agree to our proposals for competitive wages and health benefits, manageable class sizes and case loads in time for teachers to prepare for class. I've been here for 15 years and this is the first time that our members have unanimously supported our negotiations team." How do we know the community supports us? Well, over 600 members of the Darti community have signed postcards of support that we're going to deliver to you tonight. Dardi is among the lowest in compensation in the LA County region. In fact, at this point, with increases in out-of-pocket health costs, many of our members are in danger of taking a pay cut this year. Guardi has amazing families, amazing students, and amazing educators. However, due to this lack of competitive pay

073and benefits, many educators are not able to stick around long enough to experience the great community center benefits of working in Dwarti. Instead, we are becoming a stepping stone where we train people up and then they simply leave. The facts are plain. Educators in this district have not had an onschedule increase for three years. The district has refused to share the cost increase in our health insurance by even a dollar. And this is all despite the fact that if you look at the 2425 audited actuals, the district was carrying a 36% reserve. As you can see, our members are heavily invested in the future of this district. Please remember that you, the governing board, direct your negotiations team. Please direct them to agree to our proposals at our next negotiations meeting on September 19th. And

074we have some postcards to deliver to you all tonight. >> Thank you. >> You want to bring them up here? >> Thank you. Next is Michelle Brown Black. Is that right? >> Good evening. When we'll wait till you're ready. When you're ready. Good evening. >> Good evening. My name is Michelle Brown Black. I'm the grandmother of Harley Bailey and Haley Costi who are members of the DYAC softball team here in Darti and also the grandmother of Dylan Coleman. >> Please speak into the mic so they can hear you watching on. >> You got it. I'm the grandmother of Carly Bailey and Haley Costley and Dylan Coleman. I'm fostering the girls uh for one year. um they've come to me with like some mental situations like ADHD and different things and tried to find something to

075get them involved and my cous my nephew rather is also a coach with the baseball. Um so we he introduced me to the girls uh side of it and that has been a major blessing for these children. Um they've been in foster care for over eight years. Um and now they have something that makes them feel belong. They belong. Um I now have legal guardianship over them and they look forward to going to softball practice. Now the problem is grandma has to be there four times a week and on Saturday we go to four or five different games. But I wouldn't trade it for nothing because the coaches that we have, they're very supportive. If I can't get one of them to a game because I have three other games, they pick them up. They

076make sure that they uh they work on their grades and they when I first got them, they didn't have um I didn't have enough funds to get their um equipment. They donated and got stuff donated to them. Shoes, bats, gloves, you name it. So, it made it very easy to have something to make these children belong. It's been a very rough road for them. So, I'm very grateful to DYAC and the coaches that they have in place for this program. So, whatever we can do to help it be better, I'm here for it and I want to be supportive and I hope you guys can help us as well and whatever they need. Thank you, [Applause] Chris. Christina Cervantes Sorry, I'm blind. >> Good evening. >> Hello. Good evening. I can't see with the glasses

077on. Uh, good evening. My name is Christina Cervantes. I am here speaking on behalf of Darty Youth Athletic Club, also known as DYAC. DYAC is a 100% volunteer nonprofit organization that was established in Darty for Dwerty and has served the children and families of this community for over 60 years. We have always had a long-standing partnership with the city and school district and we are deep so deeply rooted that we were specifically named in the joint field use agreement. We have depended on the criteria outlined in that agreement for decades. It is used to set our budget and our fees, the success of our league and the ability to continue our service to your kids and our kids depends on that partnership outlined in that agreement. The city has always managed our field request. This

078past week, we received an informal notification that we will now have to reserve our fields directly from the school district using Facilitron at the going rate. In order to make sure that this abrupt change didn't affect our families, I created an account and trying to input our request. Based on Facilitron, we are being asked to pay $68 an hour for field use and an additional $20 an hour for custodial fee for a total of $88 an hour. There is an additional 9% added at checkout. This is a significant change to what we have been expected to do. For reference, our normal spring season without playoff is roughly February through May. For the softball field alone, the new cost will be $13,490, which we didn't have before. This is about $450 per player just for the

079field. A softball registration is $225. We would have to charge $675 registration cost to each softball player ages 6 to 14 years old. For a Shetland player, we would be asking a 5-year-old to pay $600 just to learn how to throw a ball while their parent or volunteer coach runs next to them, showing them where or which direction to run the bases. As a reminder, we lost the lower baseball field during the construction of the gym. Um, and that used to be home to our 10 and 14 year old boys. So, our resources are have been also limited, but we've been doing our best to keep the program going. We are currently in our fall season and we have already collected money, purchased uniforms and equipment. Our kids are practicing, games are scheduled and we

080are in full swing. We only have enough in the current budget to pay our umpires and whatever we budgeted for the invoices that would have been due to the city. We don't have additional revenue source to come up with an additional $8,000 for the remainder of this season. In addition to the change in field reservations and added cost, we have been locked out of the snack bar which house all of our DIY equipment, appliances, drinks, candy, and we still have food in our freezer. We can't even sell the inventory that we have because the locks were removed and changed without notice or update on future use or access. Our neighboring cities have agreements for the youth programs like ours and like what the joint um uh youth surf agreement and that keeps programs like ours

081alive in their cities. Your families and your students want to play here in Dwerty and we're local and we can help them as you've heard. I believe my time's almost highlighted. >> I was trying to trying to be polite. Are you Leticia Leticia, next up is Leticia Vicas. Okay, thank you. >> Thank you. >> Sorry about that. >> Thank you. DYC will not survive without your continued support and partnership. After 61 years, Dwarty children will be forced to play in other cities. And from experience, for the parents who are able to take their kids to another city, they don't come back to our schools. And worse than that, parents who can't make that type of sacrifice for their children, their children won't be able to play at all and won't get the same opportunities that

082other children have. DYC has always been a valued partner and used to receive a grant from the city to ensure all children who are residents in the city of Dwarti had the opportunity to participate in our organization regardless of social or economic status. They knew that not they knew not only were we using the sport to build character, discipline, and future leaders. We were also keeping at risk kids off the streets. When the grant was removed from the budget, our values and mission didn't change. We absorbed the cost and worked harder. We still make sure no child is told they can't play. If we are unable to come up with a resolution with the district and DYC was still somehow able to survive, we most likely would have to turn your kids away because we

083won't be able to supplement the cost. Our goal today is to reintroduce DYC to the district and to introduce ourselves to those who don't know us and to ask, is the joint field use agreement still in effect? Does the school district still consider DYC a valuable partner for the social well-being of our youth? And lastly, what changed? When did it change? And how can we renew our commitment and partnership for all of our shared kids and families? Thank you. [Applause] Thank you, [Applause] Ellen. Excuse me, I'm my glasses. Ellen Mildress, I think. Emily, sorry, Emily. Emily, I apologize. I didn't read your >> last name. Thank you. You have three minutes, Emily. >> Okay. >> Hi. Good evening, board. My name is Emily Malares, and I'm here as a parent tonight, as an advocate, and

084as someone who refuses to stay silent any longer. We are at a breaking point. Our teachers are burning out. They're asked to do the impossible every single day without the resources that they need, the staffing, or fair pay to sustain them. When teachers are stretched this thin, our children suffer. And make no mistake, our children are suffering. The safety of our kids are at risk. We have students with high needs in classrooms without adequate support. We have situations where children who should have one-on-one assistance do not. And as a result, other students have been harmed. This is not speculation. This is reality. Families are terrified that the next time it could be their child. And the truth is clear. The district already faces multiple lawsuits because these issues have been ignored for too long. But

085lawsuits are not a solution. They are a symptom of a system that has failed our children, failed our teachers and failed this community. And now families are losing trust. Parents are transferring their children out of door to unified or actively looking for alternatives because the district is failing them. When families start leaving, it isn't just a number on enrollment. Is a reflection of how broken the system has become. And every student who leaves is a student this district has lost because it did not do enough to protect and support them. We do not want to fight against our district. We want to fight with our district, but that requires courage from leadership. And as this district looks for a new superintendent, we need to be clear. We cannot afford a leadership that ignores special education.

086We need someone who will prioritize safety, trained aids, teacher support, and accountability from day one. Dardi Unifi cannot move forward with another leader who puts lawsuits and budget cuts above children in classrooms. The choice of superintendent will determine whether families return to this district or whether even more continue to leave. Our teachers need relief and fair pay. And the good teachers, the ones who give their all to our children, deserve to be paid more. At the same time, those who are not meeting the needs of our students, must be either retrained or removed. Our children cannot afford to be in classrooms led by teachers who are unprepared, uns unsupported, or unwilling to rise to the challenge. And when it comes to AIDS, the situation is unacceptable. We need trained aids in our classrooms. Right now,

087agencies are being paid more to provide temporary aids than our tenure aids receive. And that is outrageous. If we can afford to overpay agencies, then we can certainly invest in training and paying the aids who stay in our classrooms, who know our kids, and who are here for the long run. If we continue down this path where teachers are pushed past their limits, where families are forced to fight for basic services, and where children are placed in unsafe classrooms, the cost will not only be measured in lawsuits, it will be measured in lives disrupted, in trust broken, and in futures lost. So, I'm clear to clearly say this, enough is enough. We are demanding trade aids, stronger safety measures, better training, and fair pay for our teachers. Not next year, not after another lawsuit, not

088when another child is hurt, but now. Our kids deserve better. Our teachers deserve better. Dwarti deserves better. This is our moment to be bold, to stand together, and to do what is right. Fight for our kids, fight for our teachers, and fight for our community. Thank you. >> Thank you. And >> I was going to help out. >> You're no. Okay. Thank you. So, Lilbeth, I'm gonna um now Ramon Card Cardinus Good evening everyone. Uh my name is Rammon Cardes. I've been a 27 year resident of Darti. Um I have a 7-year-old attending in Valley View. I am here in support of the uh Darti Youth Athletic uh specifically their U Darti baseball. So I've learned there's some and I apologize. I actually very know very uh know very little of what's going on there.

089That's why I'm here to learn a little bit of what is going on. But what I want to remind the board is we we seem to be losing focus. Kids should be our priority. Um and some of the comments will is really not within your jurisdiction. But my observation in the city uh for example, kids had no access to the pool uh until nearly end of summer. no priority. Uh um playgrounds are falling apart, dangerous to the kids. When they slide, they get cut. Here, here we are. Right. So, uh fees that being uh charged to uh in people who's volunteering there's you know that they cannot afford. Basically, the team has to be dismantled. And you know, these programs were developed to basically help the kids stay out of trouble. When I was growing

090up, I was in neighborhood, drugs, fights, gangs, all that stuff. But it got better because of these programs. Now it seems like the priority is is going away. And I don't understand that. So I'm just basically asking the board board to refocus. Put the children first. The education isn't limited in the classroom or within the school ground. There's a lot of benefit on these programs. Social skills that I see my child as as developing having friends, meeting new people, you know, his confidence has grown. But you you guys take this away, it'll be a shame. That's all. Thank you. >> Thank you, sir. That concludes our public comments. >> All right. Thank you very much for everyone who came out to uh speak to the board. We really appreciate it. All right. Um we will

091move on now to the general functions. Um so this is item 14.1. This is the approval of the minutes for the regular meeting held on October 21st, 2025, as well as the special meeting held on September 3rd, 2025. Do I have a motion to approve those minutes? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion by board member Reyes, second by board member Oin. Any discussion, board? Seeing none, all those in favor say I. >> I. >> Uh, all right. That that passes unanimously. And Alexis, you're you're also allowed to vote. Just FYI. >> Oh, that's right. You were not at the the meeting. So, yes. >> Thank you. Yeah. See, she she's a smart one. >> That see that was the first test and you passed. Very nice. Uh, all right. So, we'll now move on

092to the approval of the consent calendar. Uh, so the next item up for is the adop up for business is the adoption of the consent calendar. Does anyone have any items that they would like to remove for separate discussion or action? >> Yes. Number nine. >> Item number nine, >> agreement for special services with Atkinson Anderson lawyer. >> A A L R. >> Okay. Yes. Okay. Um so um so we have um one item to be pulled. Any other items board? All right. So um there was a motion to approve the consent calendar with the exception of item number nine. Um so let's see actually no I actually so is there a motion to go ahead and approve the consent calendar with the exception of item number nine? >> Move to approve. Second >> motion

093by board member Reyes, second by board member Hasso. All right. Uh any discussion on the rest of the items? Seeing none, all those in favor say I. >> I. All right. That passes 40. Uh we'll now go ahead and uh consider item number nine. Is there a motion to appro approve item number nine? >> Motion to approve. >> Second. Motion by board member Reyes, second by board member Oolgin. Any discussion, board? >> Yes. >> All right, Mr. Reyes, please. >> This is first time I ever seen us having a three-year contract with the attorney. What is this about? >> We've we've had it before. This is the third year. So, we just finished this third three year with them. And so, this is like we have contracts with other attorneys. Um, it is so that

094we have doing different work, legal work for our for our district. No, because well like just recently, who was it? Orbach or whatever last month >> and that was >> just for this year. >> It wasn't a three-year contract. And >> I guess this happened started when I wasn't on the board. So >> that's why I'm not used to this thing. And I don't know even understand why we need three years when we would if we like them, we bring them back every year. >> Why are we locking ourselves in? That's what I don't understand. >> Right. Well, they use it. So, and they also have the rates in there for the three years, too. And we use them as needed. So, we don't have to use them. We have a couple different um attorneys

095based on the the needs of the school district and pay based on the subject. So, it's where we've we've been doing it for from that before. >> Does does this Oh, sorry. Does this contract uh allow us to I mean terminate it if we are unhappy with them? I I presume it would. I mean, most contracts that I've seen do allow us to terminate if we're not satisfied with it. >> Well, you also don't have to I should say don't don't use them, right? >> Yeah. That's basically basically it's a it's it's only for services that you request and then you're invoiced for services. So, there's no dollar amount unless we ask for services from that attorney. That's why we have other attorneys as well, different folks that we have as on. It's not a

096retainer because we're not paying them, but we have a contract with them so we can utilize them as needed. >> Okay. Uh any other questions, comments, or discussion from the board? >> All right. So, we do have a motion to approve item number nine. Uh there's no other discussion, so we'll go ahead and vote. So, all those in favor say I. >> I. Any against? >> No. >> All right. So that item passes 31. All right. Now move on to item I believe it's 14.3. Yes, 14.3. This is the second reading and approval of board policies. Is there a motion to approve? >> Motion by board member Reyes. >> Second by board member Gene. Any discussion? >> Seeing none, all those in favor say I. >> I. All right, that passes unanimously. Uh, the next

097item is a construction and modernization project updates for September 2025. This was to receive for information only. We can now move on to item 15.1. Give me just a moment to pull out some additional papers here. >> Can I can I ask question about 14 >> construction modernization? >> Yes. Uh, yes. Um, there's all this stuff happening at Bearsley and I'm hearing things that the new seating that outside amphitheater that we had installed with the bond money that that's going to get removed and the garden's going to get removed. >> We don't have the final plans at this point. So, I'd have to I'll look into >> Okay. Because I had heard that the president had a president the principal had sat down and showed some plans. >> Okay. to some of the teachers and

098and they were sharing that with me. Um, so I would like to board to be >> notified of this stuff before anybody else cuz I'm hearing all this construction and things going on and I have no clue. >> I'm in the dark and I don't know if any of you know what the heck's going on either, you know. So, I would like the board to know first before the community or anybody else because it should this I I don't even know if you know what's been approved and or these new changes or any any of that, you know, and I feel like uh I'm in the dark. Okay. So, please let us know what's going on. Thank you. >> Dr. Can I address that? >> Uh yes, please. Go ahead, Miss Bell. So, any any

099construction updates, um, you can contact my office and we'll be more than happy to go over anything with you. I'm not sure what was shared, but we have meetings every Wednesday for this particular project at 1:00. And I don't recall anything about a garden being moved at this moment and in the discussion. So, I'm not sure what was shown to anyone. So, if you have any questions, then just come. They said little little whatever architects was there and they showed him something. >> No, no, no. I understand. >> So I I don't know. >> Little wasn't there. I know that for a fact it was the construction managers >> and so so if you ever have any question then you should direct it to our office because then I can give you the correct information.

100>> But also the board should know as a whole. >> So when we give you the updates like I said the updates that you have are basic what we're doing. We're in the preliminary stages right now. So to for them to focus on a garden, I'm not sure what that is because we've been talking about moving portables, which is the thing that we're trying to do at this moment, and sending plans to DSA. >> But again, see, I don't even know that you're telling me something I don't know. >> Right. >> Okay. So, and I'm sure doc Dr. Lor doesn't know either because we're new here. Okay. We haven't been here. We didn't approve this stuff. >> These are preliminary conversations. So, this is what I'm saying. This is the conversations there preliminary. So when

101we get ready to report something to you, we'll have something to report to you. So this a discussion in the planning processes. >> Okay. But please keep us in the loop. >> We always do. >> Thank you. >> All right. Thank you very much, Miss Bell. Uh all right. So we'll now move on to item number 15.1. So this is the approval of the employment agreement for the interim superintendent. So, I'm going to go ahead and read an item here and then I will um entertain a I guess a motion in a second. So, um the Brown Act requires that this board make an oral report in open session before taking final action on an employment agreement for a local agency executive that summarizes any recommendation regarding compensation, including salary, fringe benefits, and other terms

102of employment. Consistent with this requirement, the board provides this oral summary of the terms set forth in the employment agreement for the interim superintendent between Dward Unified School District and Mr. Richard Crosby. Mr. Crosby will serve as the interim superintendent starting on October 1st, 2025 until the effective date of employment for a superintendent of schools. Mr. Crosby's daily rate of pay will increase by $250 per day serving uh as interim superintendent. Mr. Crosby will be responsible for performing the current duties of the superintendent and shall have the powers to act in that capacity. Eligibility for health and welfare benefits shall not change in this interim assignment. So this concludes the board's uh report pursuant to government code section four or sorry C3. Uh so I will now uh entertain I guess a motion and a

103second before we do discussion and action. >> So move >> motion by board member Hogin >> Second by board member Hasso. Any discussion board? All right, seeing none, we'll go ahead and vote. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Believe that was unanimous 40. Now move on to item 16.1 [Music] uh which is the public hearing for the 2025 2026 instructional materials. Do I have a motion to open the public hearing for item 16.1? >> So move. Second >> motion by board member Holgin, second by board member Hasso. Uh all those and do I have a discussion on this? >> The the hearing. >> Okay, just to open it. We don't have a discussion. Correct. Okay. So, all those in favor say I. >> I. All right. Uh the public hearing is now

104open. >> All right. Do I have a motion to close the public hearing? >> So move. Second >> motion by board member Olen, second by board member Hasso. All those in favor say I. >> I. That's that vote is unanimous. 16.2 resolution 04-25-26 textbook and instructional materials compliance. Do I have a motion to approve? >> Second. >> Motion by board member Hasso, second by board. Second by board member. Any discussion board? Seeing none, all those in favor say I. >> I. Passes unanimously. 16.3 proposal for CGI, the cognitively guided instruction professional development with UCLA Center X. Do I have a motion to approve? >> So move. >> Second. >> Motion by board member Reyes, second by board member. Any discussion? I the only thing I wanted to say is I'm I'm excited to see how

105this uh works. I'm it sounds like in in the past it's been very very effective and so I'm excited to see how it works for the uh kindergarten through fifth grade. It's really exciting. All right. Uh seeing as there's no more discussion, all those in favor say I. >> I. That passes unanimously. 16.4 4 2025 2026 instructional continuity plan. Do I have a motion to approve? >> Move to approve. >> Second. >> Motion by board member Hasso, second by board member. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say I. >> I. That passes unanimously. Moving on to 17.1. Dart Unified School District's unudited actuals financial reports for the fiscal year 202425. Do I have a motion to approve? >> So move. >> Second. >> Motion by board member Ogene, second by board member Hasso.

106Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say I. >> I. It's unanimous. 17.2. This is resolution number 03-25-26 which is about the GAN limit resolution. Do I have a motion to approve? >> So move >> second >> motion by board member Reyes, second by board member Hasso. Any discussion board? Seeing none, all those in favor say I. >> I. That's unanimous. 17.3 resolution number 05-25-26. This is resolution of the board of education of Dart Unified School District determining that Beardsley dual language academy transformation project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act SQA deciding to carry out the project and directing the filling of a notice of exemption. Direct sorry directing the filing of a notice of exemption. Do I have a motion? >> So move second. Motion by board member Olen, second by

107board member Hasso. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say I. >> I. It's unanimous. 17.4 authorization to rever sorry not reverse revise certification of signatures. Uh so is there a motion? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion by board member Hasso. Second by board member Ogene. Any discussion? I I will ask uh Dr. Helman, can you just briefly share the the reason for needing this revision of signatures? >> So the purpose of doing this is to authorize Mr. Crosby to be the signature for the the things that the items that um superintendents need to sign for. So once I exit, he'll have that authorization until such time that there's another superintendent Okay. Thank you very much. Uh, all right. No more discussion. All those in favor say I. I. >> I. Passes unanimously.

108All right. We can now move on to the non-aggenda agendaized items for the board members, student board member, and superintendent. Uh, so I will um I'm going to leave Dr. Hillman to be last. Um, so I will go ahead then and start with Alexis. And this is just if you have anything else you'd like to share with the community, with the board, anything like that. Um, it's it's a non-aggendaized item, so anything you want to talk about, we're all yours. >> Um, I don't really have anything to say, but I just want to say that I'm so happy to be here and so excited to work with um, the rest of the board this year. >> Excellent. Thank you so much. I I think I can echo all the board here that we're very excited

109to be working with you as well. Uh all right, Mr. Reyes, we'll go with you next. >> So soon. >> Yeah, exactly. >> Keep everybody on their toes, right? >> Yeah, that's it. Um, we the people I know a lot of you seem like like you were lost when these parents came up from DYC baseball, but that's been an important an important part of our community. DY, it's kept kids off the street. It's kept kids out of out of gangs. It's kept kids out of prison. I mean, and I've had my kids in it, my nephews been in it, okay? Generations in this community have been part of it. We in the past, the city council, the city, the school district never charged, we only charged them for lights. That's all they had to pay

110for. A lot of these kids, like you heard tonight, they they they can't afford sometimes shoes to play baseball or softball. It It upset me to hear that we're charging and and you heard tonight how much it's it will cost them if they have to pay these exorbitant fees. That is something this this has always been for the community and it should always remain for the community. and we need to bite that bullet and make sure that we extend out a hand out to that community. So, I I never knew about these charges. So, I would like to know about these charges, what we're charging. I don't know who if the board ever approved this. Okay. So, I would like that information, please, Dr. Hillman. You know, because this is in my opinion and it

111should be in yours too. This is wrong. This is hurting the very socioeconomically disadvantaged community that's here in Deardi. And um it's it's a really important thing that we take care of our kids. These are our kids. It's really important. Um, the other thing is I just want to let everybody Today's September 11th and just to reflect upon that. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you very much, Mr. Ray. That's a great reminder. I appreciate that. All right, board member Hasso. >> Thank you. Um, I'll just piggyback off where uh board member Rey has left off. I definitely have questions regarding the DYAC. the questions that were presented um by our community speakers. I basically have those same questions. I I don't know the answer to them. Um I know there was a joint agreement

112something we with a joint agreement that we did a few months back. Um, and I'm wondering if that if if that what we did that time impacted this, but if we're charging money for something we weren't charging money for before and um seeing it as a revenue opportunity. Um, I'm not comfortable with that and um I don't want to, you know, try to gain revenue off the backs of our community members. Um, but lots of unknowns. So, I I'd like to get the facts on that. Um, secondly, I wanted to welcome Alexis. Congratulations on your first night. Um, you know, we have wonderful students in Dwarty. Um, and you represent that. I just met you earlier this evening and um can already just tell what kind of um young lady you are. So, super happy

113to have you. Welcome. And I wanted to, as we're going over our personnel, our certificated personnel report, I just wanted to congratulate some of our teachers who have completed some um professional milestones, whether clearing their credential or earning a master's degree. So, Jesse Chan, Juana M. Lopez, and Jessica Moritz. So congratulations to you all um and um for meeting those milestones and just for investing in your own professional growth. Uh back to school night we wrapped them up last week. Um one of the parents at MIT was really pushing for you know how do we u market MIT as the beautiful resource and wonderful resource that it truly is in the community. Um and it is so different than any traditional alternative education. Um and perhaps the um reputation that it had in the past,

114it's really evolved and the work that uh Mr. Morris has done there and his teaching staff is just really incredible. And so um you know the parent asked me what could the board do? So I thought well one thing I could say is at least mention it in our our closing remarks. So, I just wanted to say that. And then just being at the other school sites for a back to school night, there's evidence of learning right out of the gate. So, our teachers are working hard, our students are working hard, and learning is happening from day one. So, that was really um exciting to see. Um in terms hold on, I have to write things down otherwise I don't remember them. Um Oh, there. Oh, just circling back, if we can get the breakdown

115of unrestricted and restricted funds that you mentioned, Misspell, for next month, that would be really helpful. Um, and then finally, um, our last meeting with Dr. Hillman. Um, I just wanted to thank you again. I know we had your celebration earlier, but thank you for your leadership, um, and the impact that you've made on our community. I know it's, um, it's a hard job. It's the hardest job in education. um and and you've um did really well over your first year and I'm sorry to see you go. Um but I understand um you have big shoes to fill and the board definitely has their work cut out for them. Um as we start delving in that process, the the application window closes in about three hours. I'm not a mathematician. That might not be right,

116but it closes at midnight tonight. So So um you will be missed. Um, and thank you again for everything. >> Thank you very much, Dr. Hasso. All right, board member Oeen. >> Wow. Wow, there's a lot going on. Um, well, welcome, Alexis. It's a pleasure to meet you and you're going to do a great job. I can see you just blend right in. Um, I'm looking for um reminder, um, the 20th, September 20th, is our grand opening of the gym. We have been waiting for this for I'm I'm sorry >> is >> Oh, I'm sorry. I thought I I was giving out the wrong >> I thought I was giving out the wrong date. September 20th from 10 to 12. Come on out. Um join us. It's going to be great. I mean, I've been

117in there once. It is amazing. Looking really forward to it. Um Dr. Hillman, it's our last meeting together. I know it's not the last day. We still have a couple weeks with you, but thank you for everything you've done for our our students, our community. Thank you for all the volunteer work you've done and um we're going to miss you and um I know you'll come back and visit us sometime. Thank you. >> Thank you very much, board member. Uh so I'll I'll go ahead and go myself and then Dr. Hillman, as as it should be no surprise, you will be next. So, umh yeah, I I want to to echo um what was said about the the gym. It's a very exciting uh resource that's going to be opening up to our community very

118soon. And I would just encourage everyone to to come out to that uh because I think it's a great place that we'll be able to continue to build community uh you know, both in our schools and in our city. Uh we also do have uh our Route 66 parade and our city picnic that is going to be happening this month on September 27th. Um and that is a great place to see uh the USD students, teachers, administrators in action. They're they're going to be involved all over the place uh with those events. So uh I' I'd encourage everyone to to come out for that. Uh it's it's always an enjoyable event. I I had heard that the the uh antique car show um it like sold out like that. I heard there's going to be

119like 120 cars there. So um it's going to be an excellent event and I hope that everyone can participate in that. Um with regards to to DYAC, um yes, I I remember that uh from when I was a little kid in this district. Um so it has been around for quite some time and I I do I do hope we can um you know figure out how to rectify uh whatever changes made uh because I think that that is uh you know while I I think we we may end up being uh you know the expression is pennywise and pound foolish um by not investing in in our youth in that way. So, I I do hope that we we can get some more information about that and and get to the bottom of it.

120Um, a very uh special welcome to Alexis. We are so excited to to have you uh as our student board rep. Um, as as you probably know, um you you're following uh Priscilla, who is also an excellent board rep. And so, um, we have every indication that you will be just like her, um, and and bring the excitement, enthusiasm that exists at DHS and and share that with the board. So, thank you very much for your report today and we look forward to to working with you. >> Thank you. >> Uh, all right. And then, Dr. Helman. Um, it it has really been uh a very uh real honor to be able to uh sit next to you on the dis here and to work with you and to uh have have your leadership on

121full display on on so many occasions. Uh and you know it has been said that uh you know great leaders and great individuals uh they they put a dent in the universe and I I can honestly say that you are one of those people that puts a dent in the universe and uh that that is um both both on on a grand scale but also uh each individual life that you've touched um is their own universe and and I know that you've put uh a dent in a lot of people's lives in the best way possible and um I know that's true for myself. Uh so it's it's really uh been an honor to get to work with you and I do very much hope that we see you on a regular basis uh going

122forward. So thank you very much for all you've done. Well, before I start, let me just say I know I can get long- winded and tonight might be no exception, so put your keys away. But this is my last board meeting, and I do want to leave my heart here with you. As I'm about to retire, I've been thinking a lot about change. The world our children are growing up in today is so different from the world we knew as kids. And even from when I first started teaching, school isn't what it was when we were young or even 10 years ago. We have fewer children now in our area. Our families are facing different and often harder challenges. Parents have more choices and and where how and where their kids are getting educated and

123all that work. All that means our work as a district isn't static. It's evolving and and it evol it requires us to be thoughtful, flexible and compassionate leaders. And yet even with all this change, Dwarte remains something very, very special. This is a warm, proud community, as you heard tonight, with rich history where people still show up for each other and stand for what's right and where kids are the center of the story. That sense of belonging and connectedness is rare and it's worth protecting. You heard it up here from the comments. And one thing I've learned again and again in this work is that our children, and I call everybody children, but every child from our three-year-olds to our 22 year olds, they're watching us. They watch how we navigate obstacles, how we handle

124disagreements. how we show respect, how we make decisions, and how we support and challen and and lift each other up. Every conversation we have, every vote that we take, every email that we send, it's a model for the children. And that's not a burden. It's a privilege. It's our chance to teach them what leadership, kindness, and courage look like. So before I close, I do want to recognize the people who've been right there with me all along. And I I mentioned them earlier. Not everyone's here, but I do want everyone in the community to hear that first of all, our principles and our district leaders. Thank you for carrying the vision to every campus, for leading your teams with courage, and for making sure every decision ties back to those students. You are the bridge

125between policy and practice, and I've been proud to work alongside you. our educators. You are the heartbeat of our district. You open your classrooms every day with hope and high expectations. You're innovators, mentors, and advocates. And you change lives one student at a time. To our classified staff, the people who keep the district running in ways parents and students often don't see. Our secretaries are the first smile of each day. our custodians who make sure that our spaces are safe and welcoming. Our nutrition service team who fuel our students, our instructional aids who give students to students the one-on-one support that they can make all the difference. And countless others from our proctors, technology, the business office, maintenance, every role matters. Thank you for your dedication, your hard work, and your heart. And to those

126of you who I'm close with on every day and often into the night and on the weekends to my executive cabinet, those folks sitting over there and right here, each one of you brings so much to the table because it's never easy work. As Dr. Hasso said earlier, it is hard, but I wouldn't want to have done this without any without you, Miss Tiffany Bell. your steadfast work on our fiscal health and focus on the future. Kelly Lawson for your passion for teaching and learning and doing what's right. Mercedes for your unwavering support and for doing so much behind the scenes to keep our district and this board together. And finally, I can't I have to shout out to my pal Rick Crosby. Rick and I have worked hand in hand for the past eight

127years through good times and tough times, a steady, trusted partner. Rick, thank you for agreeing to serve as the interim superintendent until the permanent superintendent is in place. I know you'll be doing two jobs, but I'm confident you'll keep the district moving forward with heart and stability. As I step away from this role, what I'll carry with me most isn't just the programs we've buil built or the achievements we've made. It's the people. It's the relationships. It's the laughter in the classrooms, the conversations with the parents, the dedication of staff, and the resilience of our students. I'm proud of the work we've done together. We strengthen our programs, expanded learning opportunities, supported families, taken on some of the biggest challenges our districts have ever faced. None of that happened in isolation. It happened because of

128our partnerships together. So to this board, thank you for trusting me and staying focused on our students and this community. To our families out there, thank you for letting us as a district, as schools be be a part of your children's lives. And to our students, you are the reason we do the work. And Alexis, you take this back and know that you inspire me every single day and will in the future. I leave this district knowing it's in good hands because of all of you. Please keep centering students in every decision. Please keep showing them and each other grace. The needs of our school and our children will continue to shift. But if we stay grounded in caring respect to unified will keep thriving. So every everything we do truly touches the future. And

129that's the gift and the responsible responsibility we share from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for allowing me to serve. This isn't goodbye. It's just a cha change in how I get to cheer you all on. I'm proud to be part of the Steuarti family. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you very much, Dr. Hillman. All right, board. Uh we're now at the adjournment. Um, I'd like a motion to adjourn in memory of Mr. Jerry Scaff. Uh, do I have a motion? >> So, move. >> Second. >> Motion by board member Hginin. Second by board member Reyes. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say I. I. >> I. >> Thank you very much, board.