001Good evening. Um, the board has just returned from close session and no action was taken. So, I'd like to call to order the meeting, the regular meeting of the board, uh, at 7:06 p.m., uh, we'll go ahead and do a quick roll call. Uh, board member Diaz here. Board member Finlay here. Board member Oeen here. Board member Hasso here. Board member Reyes here. Student board representative Priscilla Nabarete here. Excellent. Uh, and then Dr. Hillman, are you have your full team here? We're all here and accounted for. Thank you. Excellent. Excellent. All right, we're going to go ahead and move along to the flag salute then and board member Holgene will go ahead and do that and then I will do the belief, vision, and mission. Can I please get everybody to stand? Ready, begin. I
002pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right. Our beliefs. We are 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 performances and outcomes. We believe learning increases when there are high expectations for performance and conduct. We believe we have the responsibility to find solutions that enable all students to learn. Our vision is 21st century schools producing 21st century students and our mission is to provide the knowledge, skills and inspiration for each student for success in college, career
003and life. All right board, we'll move on to item number seven, which is the adoption of the agenda. Do I have a motion? So move. Second. Motion by board member Diaz, second by board member Olen. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say I. I. I. I. Any against? None. All right, that passes. 5. Item number eight is a spotlight on Royal Oaks Steam Academy. And Dr. Helman, would you like to introduce? I would love to. I would introd like to introduce and ask Dr. Castillo to come on up to the podium. Our principal of Royal Oaks Steam Academy is going to spotlight some programs there and I'll turn it over to you. Welcome, Miss Castile. Thank you. Good evening, distinguished board members, Superintendent Hillman, and cabinet members, and members of our school community.
004It's an honor to be here with you this evening and to share some of the inspiring work that's happening at Royal Oak Steam Academy. Normally, I would have a group of students here to um share in the excitement, but because of the timing of the year and our preparation for exams, I we weren't able to join us. we will have a group here for um here to celebrate with you on another occasion. Our TK8 school embraces the steam model which is science, technology, engineering, art and math. And we use it as a framework not only for academics but for developing the whole child. Would you change the slide please? Thank you. Our approach is rooted in principles of fostering relationships, nurturing curiosity, and promoting kindness. When students feel safe and acknowledge they're empowered to explore,
005take risks, experience personal growth, this work is not done in isolation. It thrives because of strong partnerships we share with you, our families, and the community. Your support fuels our staff's passion and strengthens our shared commitment to creating a school where every student can thrive. Could you please Thank you. Math is one of the most powerful tools that we can give our students, not just in academic success, but for life. Research consistently shows that strong math skills are closely tied to future opportunities in education, career pathways, and long-term financial stability. That's why we prioritize making math meaningful by connecting it to real life situations through student collaboration, teacher teamwork, and hands-on engaging projects. When students understand how math informs daily decisions and shapes their careers, their motivation deepens and their confidence and mastery grow. Two
006of our Royal Oaks teachers received training from the Village Life to bring culturally relevant math instruction to the classroom through the math literacy project. This collaboration supported DUSD educators in making math meaningful and deeply connected to students lived experiences. Students saw math in action. Whether they built a hydraulic arm, coded, or designed a moving robot from a paper cup, they solved problems that mirrored real life. Students aren't just learning math. They're living it. Our native plant and vegetable gardens are more than just beautiful. They're living classrooms. At Royal Oak, students engage in hands-on learning and lessons about sustainability, biodiversity, and environmental science. We're proud to be recognized as Monarch Way Station 500023, a designation that reflects our commitment to creating and maintaining habitats that support monarch butterfly migration across North America. By tending these spaces,
007students develop a deep sense of stewardship and connection to the natural world. They're learning through science, through nature, and they absolutely love it. We're proud to offer a dedicated steam lab and science lab, a space where curiosity leads and creativity thrives. Here, students are encouraged to design, experiment, and bring their ideas to life through hands-on exploration. Electives such as steam, art, music, and science olympiad provide students with opportunities to discover new passions, strengthen their skills, and delve deeper into the areas they love. In science olympiad, Royal Oak students worked collaboratively on complex challenges, building skills and inquiry and innovation. This year, the team attended the USC Invitational, which brought together over 3,000 middle and high schools across a 100 uh schools in the Southern California area. As the nation's largest in-person science olympia tournament, students
008competed in 23 STEM events, including engineering challenges like scrambler and tower. Our annual steam night is a celebration of learning. From TK to 8th grade, students led presentations and showcased projects integrating steam concepts. It was a night where families, staff, and community came together to celebrate creativity, critical thinking, and student voice. This year's event was well attended, and our students be themed with pride. We believe in educating the whole child, which means meeting both academic and emotional needs. At Royal Oak, students develop empathy and resilience and learn how to navigate relationships through our PBIS framework and social emotional learning initiatives. These skills are embedded into our school culture and reinforced daily through our sore values. Our teachers are also continuously building their capacity to support students in behavior and self-regulation. You may see mindful movement,
009yoga, and breathing exercises integrated into the school day. Simple but powerful practices that help students reset, refocus, and feel ready to learn. At Royal Oaks, relationships matter, and so does every moment of connection. At Royal Oaks, STEAM education is about preparing students for more than just a test. It's about preparing them for life. We are cultivating future leaders, engineers, artists, and problem solvers who critic who think critically and care deeply. Royal Oak students are not only developing academic skills, but also the emotional intelligence and confidence they'll need to thrive in a changing world. Thank you to our board of education, our superintendent, cabinet, and our community members. Your present meant so much um for those who were able to attend our steam night that meant so much to our parents, to our students, and our
010teachers. Um we appreciate your leadership and the resources that you provide that enable us to have dynamic hands-on learning experiences. Because of your commitment, our students aren't just learning, they're also thriving. Great. Thank you very much for that presentation. And uh you know as as you went through these slides um you know and as we think about the the steam night the open house that you know was just a couple weeks ago um you know everything that you talked about we could you know see firsthand. It was it was very very impressive um to see everything that the the kids were doing and um it it is uh very inspiring to see and um as as someone who has a a child at your school. Um I it's it's so encouraging to hear, you know,
011him come home and, you know, this is what we talked about today. This is what we did today. And he's he's always very excited. And so, um, I know that's just an N of one in my household, but that's a it's a very important one. Um, so, uh, I I do thank you for your your leadership there and for all of the work that your staff does to make it a wonderful place to learn. So, thank you very much. I appreciate your feedback. Thank you. I echo I echo um Dr. Finley's comments, but I also can tell you that during your presentation, I was thinking of uh the presentation that the students were doing that night. It was it was amazing to see them how self-confident they were to make the presentation. They knew what
012what they had built what the effect was and he were amazing. Dr. um Laura Hasso and I walk into many of the school and through the uh classrooms and we were very impressed and so thank you. I know that we miss the students um kind of life that they bring to our meetings during the presentations but I did connect what you just present to what happened at that night at your school site. So, thank you and thank you for keeping um those students on the right path. I know you have a great staff and um that makes difference and so you're changing lives in there. So, once again, thank you. Thank you, Miss Diaz. And I'll just piggyback off of um Miss Diaz because we were walking through classrooms together. We just happened to bump
013into each other and um one of the things I think I mentioned to Dr. Hillman afterwards was, you know, you call something an academy, a steam academy, but is it just a name? But that night it was really reaffirming that that is truly the academy um experience that students get. And we kind of took a unique approach of starting in the middle school and then wake working our way down. And so it was really neat to start with um your seventh and eighth graders. It was we saw some of those science olympiad projects in action and they owned their learning. They were so uh proud to show us. um I don't recall what class it was, but it was a Shark Tank pitch that they made to us and that was really fun. And then
014um moving our way over to I think it was a second grade classroom. They had plants. They're doing some type of plant observation project and they had control groups with variables in second grade and it's just a reminder that um our kids can do hard work and they can do critical thinking with that support. So thank you um for all you're doing over there at Royal Oaks. Appreciate that. Thank you. All right. Any more comments from the board? Kind of humorous question. Um, as as far as the butterflies go, what are you protecting the caterpillars? We're training students to protect them. Okay. No. Are you covering them with a net a netting? They are. Are they separating them from the plant? They they actually do that really well on their own. Um what we had
015to do this time was remove our backpacks because some of them really um appreciated the hooks that we have and we also attached themselves to um the ceilings on the hallway passes. Um yeah because I have some at home that naturally they end up there and the birds get to them so they don't get a chance or things you know. So that's why I was wondering if you guys netted them, you know, cuz some people do, you know, to protect them. But great work. Thank you. Thank you very much. All right. Thank you very much, Miss Castillo. Appreciate it. All right. We can now move on to our presentations section. Uh so I believe we have three presentations this evening. Um so Dr. Hillman, do you want to introduce those or is Miss Bell, are
016you going to be going ahead and introducing all these to us? So, I'm going to um turn this over to Miss Bell and uh she'll explain some of the uh each of these presentations as we move forward. Thank you. So, so I am not Natalie Palma that says it on your agenda, but she was ill tonight and so she sent a message and she sent her presentation regarding the bond audits for measure S and measure E. You will recall that um Natie Palma is a consultant from Christy White and they did our um district overall audit last board member board meeting and so the bond audits were not ready and they are ready tonight. So, I will give you the findings of those and I'm just going to read what she wrote because my um
017my overall is that we had no findings and that's great but I want to let you know what she said in compliance with what we had. So, in 2324 the bonds audits were conducted of the district measure S and measure E funds and their compliance with state and federal law. The audit covered a broad range of areas. Testing of internal controls in areas such as purchasing cash dispersements by taking a look at checks, invoices, and purchase orders and confirming that all purchases had the necessary approvals and were bond ballot approved purchases. We tested Christy White approximately 63% of all measure E expenditures and 48% of measure S expenditures. Personnel expenditures were also tested for measure E and it was found that all salary transactions for were for positions applicable to the approved bond measure ballot.
018Lastly, a sample of change orders were also tested to confirm they were properly approved and in accordance with district policies. The auditors also tested all June 30, 2024 balance sheet accounts such as cash accounts receivable, accounts payable with revenue and expenditures by taking a look at bank statements and reconciliations and confirmations with the county. Overall, the financial statement opinion was unmodified, which is the best opinion you can have. There were no financial statement findings and the performance audit had no findings as well. It was found that all expenditures were done with all the appropriate approvals and for appropriate reasons outlined by the ballot language. We seem to have lost our screens here. It looks like um I don't know. Does that mean it stopped streaming? Okay, we'll find out. Oh, that one's back up. All
019right, looks like we're back in business. And so that is the those are the findings for measure S and measure E. um of our annual audit for both our bond measures and we're going to bring uh Mr. Jen Kim who will talk to you about our um series uh C presentation. Before we move on to those next, let's just make sure that if the board has any questions regarding the audit. Uh I'm not if if if Miss Bell can at least Miss Bell can take notes and make sure that we get those questions answered given that the uh consultant is ill tonight. Right. So I I I just had um one quick question. So th this um audit that is being done for measures E and S. Yes. Um, you know, I know I know
020we still have um I guess money to spend in S at least and I think E is almost exhausted or already exhausted. Do we still have to continue to do an audit once all the money is exhausted or is once it's exhausted we don't do any more audits? We will do one more audit on E because we have to do 2425. I see. Okay. And E's money is exhausted. Okay. Great. Thank you. You're welcome. board. Any other questions or comments? All right, sounds good. Thank you, Miss. Thank you. You're welcome. So, now for our presentation on the Measure S, general obligation bond series C. Um, Mr. Jin Kim is here. All right. Well, good evening, President Finley, members of the board. Uh, my name is Jen Kim. I'm here on behalf of your bond team.
021And joining me today is other members of your bond team, Nick Huer, who's your bond attorney, as well as Rich Caliber, who works with me. You know, we know that later on this evening, we'll be seeking your approval to take the next draw under measure S. So, we thought that it might be helpful just to do a quick review for the community's benefit. We know that all of you have been through this process before, but we thought that a quick review about what a geo bond is, a little bit information about our measure S as well as some of the next steps involved in the bond issuance process might be helpful for the community. So to that end, we prepared a set of slides to share with you and we'll try to be respectful of
022your time this evening and go through them relatively briskly. However, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask them and I'll be more than happy to answer them for you along with uh some of the other members of the team here. So starting with what is a general obligation bond? A general obligation bond is essentially a financing tool which is widely used by school districts up and down the state to address the facilities needs of the community. And because it's doing the work of the community, the community is asked to tax themselves. And they're asked to tax them tax themselves through a vote. And for measure S, we took that vote in 2020. Now the bond has many protective and transparent transparency and accountability features built into it to protect the taxpayers in
023the community. One of the protective feature is that there is a maximum tax rate for each bond measure. And for a school district like ours, that tax rate is $60 per $100,000 assessed valuation. Now, I'd like to clarify here about how the tax is calculated. I get the common question asked by my friends and family. You know, my house can be sold for $800 or $900,000 today. Does that mean my tax is being levied on what I can sell my home for? You know, my common response to that is no. It's not what you can sell your home for today that taxes are being calculated on. Rather, it's based on the value in which you bought your home for. So if you bought your home for 10 years ago, it's the value that which it
024was 10 years ago plus a little percentage appreciation due to uh Prop 13, which is 2% per year. You know, in terms of some of the other protective features and the transparency feature, every time we take a bond draw, we will come before the board and seek your approval prior to doing that. We will not go on our own, issue the bonds and then report back to you. rather we seek your approval then proceed with the issuance process which we're asking to do this evening. Uh in terms of some of the other accountability and transparency feature, you know, Miss Bell went over the bond audits. That's one of the accountability features built into the bond. Meaning for for the benefit of the community, we monitor how the bond monies are being spent and those bond
025monies are being spent on projects which the board approved prior to asking the community to vote on them in our case back in 2020. Now speaking of what projects could be financed with the bomb proceeds, this is just a general categorization of types of projects in which the bomb can be used for. Typically speaking, it can be used for facilities, security, technology. The money cannot be spent for a number of different things and I will go over what they are. The monies cannot be used to pay for salaries of district administrators, pensions of district administrators, salaries of teachers or pensions of for teachers either. and it cannot be used to pay for operations of the district such as paying for the lights, paying for the water bills and the like. Bond monies are specifically earmarked
026for facilities which have been preapproved by the voters when they voted on the bonds in our case again back in 2020. Now, a little bit about our measure S bonds. But before going into that, I thought I might just do this quick review. If you remember, at the beginning of this school year, we had come up with a plan to raise $18 million of facilities to finance the relocation of the child development center. Now, how we went about doing that was we had a measure E bond and we have measure S bonds. We knew that we had $8 million of remaining authorization under measure E. So, we created this two-step process in which we would issue the remaining balance from Measure E first, which we completed this past December, and then we would issue up
027to $10 million to finance the remaining balance of the child development relocation by the end of this school year. And that's why we're here this evening to seek your approval to proceed with that second part. A little bit more about Measure S. You know, you'll see a lot of similarities as I'm going through our Measure E bond plan. You know, you'll see a lot of similarities between our personal finances and bond finances in that while the voters authorized $79 million of bonds. We haven't issued all of those bonds yet. We've taken two draws to date, $30 million and $26 million, and we're planning to take $10 million this time around, which will uh maintain or keep $13 million of remaining authorization for you. Now, here's a little bit of similarity to our personal finances. Bond
028authorization is like a line of credit, if you will, on your home. Just as when you get approved for a line of credit, you don't pay interest on the full um approval rate or approval amount that you may have gotten from the bank. Rather, you pay interest on the amount you withdraw from your line of credit. The bond program works exactly like that. You do not pay interest on all $79 million of bonds which the voters approved back in 2020. The community is only paying taxes on the amounts which it has taken draws on that $79 million. Some of the other similarities uh bond fin between bond finance and our personal finance is that a bond repayment period like our mortgage is paid over typically a 30-year repayment period. And again the taxes here $60
029maximum tax which is written into the law and then this is a little interesting planning tool here. See you'll see that the assume assessed valuation growth rate of 4%. This is the planning tool which we've used for measure E as well as measure S on how much we are projecting that the district's assessed valuation will increase by on average from one year to the next. How do we come up with this 4% and is this 4% reasonable for us? In order to come up with this amount what we do is we look at the dis district's past growth rates and we take an average of those past and we compare it to this 4%. For us, we've consistently grown above that 4% when we look back about 25 year history of our assessed valuation. Now,
030we know that during the great recession back in 2018, we saw some dips and slower growths, but since then, we've grown above 4% on an annual basis on average. Now, again, the other protective feature here I'd like to just reiterate is every time we take a draw, we will come before the board and seek your approval before proceeding with that draw. Next plan, a little bit more information about our upcoming $10 million bond issuance. I don't mean to give you an eye exam here, and there are a lot of numbers here, but I'd like to draw your attention to columns two and column six. Column two is that 4% assessed valuation growth rate assumption that I shared with you previously. Assuming that 4% growth, you see that the number of our tax base grows in
031column one. And that's what we're bonding against. And if you look at column six, remember I mentioned that $60 tax rate. As you can see here, our projection stays under that $60 maximum tax rate after the issuance of the $10 million uh of measure S bonds. Oh, and one thing I want to also reiterate, these bonds will be issued as the traditional current interest bonds, meaning it's the cheapest form of borrowing that's available to school district like ours. Finally, in terms of the next steps, what happens next? Assuming that the board decides to act on the bond documents this evening and approves to move forward, what we'll do is we'll move on to the second phase. The second phase involves a credit rating process. And here again is the similarity between bond finance and our
032personal finance. Just as a bank might check your credit score every time you take out a loan, every time we do a bond issuance, the investors would like to know what our credit rating is. So we'll go through that process with the credit rating agencies once the board takes action. And last time around under measure E, the district was very well represented by Dr. Hillman and Miss Bell. And what we do is we go over some of the innovative project uh programs which the district offers its students as well as some of the finances of the school districts as well. Once we obtain the credit rating, we move on to the third and final phase which is the actual sale of the bonds. And what we do is we conduct a nationwide sales effort. We
033speak to investors from New York all the way to California. And we gather from these investors interest rates in which these investors are willing to purchase the bonds from us. And what we do is we take all of those interest rates and we toss away all the non-competitive interest rates and provide you with a set of interest rates which is most competitive for our bond issuance and for the district's taxpayers. And once we do that, we then wait a couple of weeks to finalize all of the legal documents which Nick's office works on. And then we will deposit the money at LA County for them to hold and trust for the district's use. So, that's a little bit about what a GEOB bond is, a little information about our Measure S bonds and some of
034the next steps related to our bond issuance. And I know, you know, Nick's traveled all the way here to answer any questions you might have about the legal documents which we'll be asking you to approve later this evening. So, if you have any questions about any of that, please uh feel free to ask them this evening. We're more than happy to answer that. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Sorry, is this the this is the the end of your presentation? Okay. Excellent. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Kim. Um, board, any questions for our presenter? Um, Mr. Kim, I just wanted to thank you for explaining to our to us and to the community what a bond is, how it can be used or and how it cannot be used. Sometimes I think we all
035get confused and we say, well, there's money. Um, why not do this or do that? But thank you for the explanation. I It's very helpful for me as well as the community. Thank you. Thank you for the kind words. Okay. Did you have a question, Mr. Yeah. So, okay. We we have enough the homes in in Darty right now have enough equity or they're they're at the I'm trying to figure out how to how to ask this question. Um the value of the homes have gone up obviously. So, we're able to cover what you're going to sell. Yes, absolutely. Okay. Absolutely. And we can go up to how much? You can go up to $60 per $100,000 of assessed value, right? Okay. And so that's the max that's the max per bond measure for school
036districts like us where we have multiple bond measures is $60 per bond measure. So there are number of school districts throughout the county and throughout the state who have multiple bond measures simply because one bond measure may not be enough to address all of your facilities needs. So in those cases when you have two bomb measures for instance 60 multiplied by two so $120. Okay. So but that's $120 from this one and then the $120 from the previous ones. No, it's $60 per measure. So it'll be $60 for this and $60 for measure E. So now, but if a person re reassesses their house to take out a second or what have you, doesn't that go up? Isn't there, you know, because you you're saying you go by the value of your home when you
037purchased it? Yeah. But when you get it refinanced and it gets reappraised, just like the county comes and hits you, isn't that the same thing? No. When you refinance your home, your home does not get reassessed at the county level. It does not. So it doesn't it doesn't trigger a tax risk. What happens is whenever the property changes hands, so if you were to let's say sell it to a relative or sell it to a friend or a stranger who might buy your home, then that then the home then becomes reassessed at a different rate or higher value and then the tax rate will be calculated. So they will be paying more for the bond nominal dollar amount. Yes. But the rate does not change. Okay. Uh so there was one other thing we had
038a couple people that were receiving money from the previous bond and they they had used um they said they used the reason that one she was the secretary and so she was uh handling the bond money. Okay. So is that legal? You know, I I don't want to play lawyer here. Yeah, I know because that that happened and and somebody else was playing consultant out of here the previous bond. Yeah, I would know how to portion of the salary paid. You know, one one other thing I would like to mention is So, is there a loophole there? That's what I'm asking. You know, I I I'm I'm not qualified to answer that question. Seems you, Nick, would you care to answer that? So, Prop 39, there's a prohibition on using bond funds for teacher administrative
039salaries. Teacher salaries are the, you know, the easy case. The administrative salaries, you know, is tougher and the attorney general was petitioned in 2004. what that meant when an administrative employee spends time um administering a bond project and the attorney general found that and sort of develop this but for test. So but for the bond measure would this individual have been spending time administering the bond program and if the answer is no that we were not we would not have spent time on that project then it is a bond eligible expenditure for purposes of prop 39. It has to but it has to be for administration of a bond project. Okay. Because I guess that that's what we said it was administration. Thank you. So there's my answer. Thank you. There is a loophole. Any
040other questions? Yes. Yes. I I had a question. So I noticed on I think it's on the the previous slide where it had all the the columns uh or two and six that we were paying attention to. So I see there in the fiscal year 2627 um we are towing the line at 59.99 uh dollars per 100,000. So if if that um growth rate of 4% is not achieved or is above or below is there a chance that that could push that dollar amount over 60? There is that chance. So what we'll do is we will evaluate these numbers again as we get closer to the time we sell the bonds. And what we'll try to do is we will try to sell the bonds at what's known as a premium. And what that does
041is the investors pay premium to purchase your bonds. So every dollar amount of bonds you sell, the investors may pro uh pay us a$110 and we take that extra 10 cents per bond we receive and we will deposit that with Los Angeles County and they will use that money to pay uh apply as a credit to your tax bill to keep your tax bill lower than what it might otherwise be without that. Okay. Okay. Great. And and then um with with this uh I guess just just so I understand when when we approved this u the I guess series B funding you know we were also getting close to the $60 per 100,000 and so our ability to now draw an additional 10 million is is that based on increased value of the the homes
042here or is it based on the fact that we have paid off some of that money in in between series B and series C. It's it's a combination of both, but primarily with the former increased value of the properties within the district. I see. Okay, great. Thank you very much, board. Any other questions or comments? All right. Thank you very much, Mr. Kim. That was very helpful and informative. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Uh I think we can now move on to uh reports from our student board member. So Priscilla, please take it away. Thank you. So good evening everyone. As we approach the end of the school year, we are having so many activities and I'm excited to share them with you today. On March 14th, we had our seniors versus staff basketball
043game during lunch. It was a very exhilarating game going back and forth between the two teams, but ultimately the staff got the win. On March 17th, we had a St. Patrick's Day celebration in the quad with soda floats and a scavenger hunt, and students were encouraged to wear green. Career Day was on March 20th. It was an amazing opportunity for students to learn about the several different careers and the options for their future. Thank you to Miss RSLE for putting together this amazing event. On March 27th, it was we had a prom fashion show where we had several students model dresses from Windsor and tux and suits from Frier Tux. Big thank you to Windsor and Fire Tech for making the fashion show possible. Also, on March 27th, many of our seniors went to Citrus
044College to complete their Citrus College student education plan workshop and campus tour. By completing their early decision application and orientation, they have earned two years free at Citrus College. On March 28th, uh Interact partnered with the City of Hope to do a blood drive in the gym and it was very successful. On March 29th, the high school hosted the district track meet with the students from around the district. It was an amazing opportunity for our students to volunteer. Big thank you to Miss Hall for always putting together such an amazing event. Also, on March 29th, the softball team hosted a car wash fundraiser in front of the school and they had a great turnout. The week of March 31st to April 4th, we had a spring fever spirit week. This was a spirit week to
045get students excited for spring break. On April 3rd, we had a duck hunt. So, over 200 rubber ducks were spread around campus, and the student who found the most won a prize. It was kind of funny. On April 4th, students took the annual community student schools community school survey, and if they completed it, they earned raffle tickets, which then were entered in a raffle where several students won prizes and gift cards. Today, our ASB students went to Royal Oaks Manor and delivered spring themed cards to spread kindness to our senior citizens in our community. And recently, we were in testing season and many of our students were working hard on the ESPback and cast tests. This week, we have our Toy Story spirit week leading up to our rally. We have been having lunch events
046every day being Toy Story themed. The senior goodbye Toy Story spring rally will be tomorrow, April 17th. This is our last rally of the year. During this rally, we will honor our spring sports, our honoral students, our prom court, and our ASB seniors. It will be very exciting, and I am very excited. This Saturday, April 19th, we will have our midnight masquerade in real prom. It will be from 7:30 to 11:30 at the South Hills Country Club in West Coina. Our prom committee has been working hard to plan this special night and we have exactly 200 students attending. On May 1st, DHS awards night will be held and where um outstanding and improvement awards will be given out the week. April 28th to May 2nd, we will have clash. So this is like throughout the
047entire week all throughout the school. So all throughout the school year, students work hard to earn points in order to win the competition at the end of the year. Clash is the last opportunity for students to earn points. Then on May 2nd, at the end of the week, we will have a a night rally where students play several games and compete for the last time this year. The winner will be announced that night. And I personally love Clash because it brings our students together and gives everyone a chance to show off their pride and fing spirit. Also, on May 2nd, we will have our incoming ninth grade uh ninth grader students preview day. So eighth graders from around the district will be visiting the high school to get a preview of what life will be
048once they attend DHS. It's a great opportunity for these um students and we're excited to show them all about high school. And then some dates for some events coming up. Decision day for our seniors will be on May 7th. On May 9th, we will be hosting a wellness fair again for our students. On March 23rd, I know you guys all love the Moonlight Jazz concert. And then senior sunset will be on March March I'm sorry May sorry May um not March May May 27th and then granite will be on May 28th senior breakfast will also be on May 28th and then sorry about that and of course graduation will be on May 30th. Um for our sports baseball is currently six and four league. They're actually, I'm sorry, they're actually seven and four because they
049won today and they are second place in league. They have made such amazing progress and are super excited for their senior night which will be on April 29th. Softball is doing amazing as always. They are currently undefeated with a 6-0 record and they are preparing for their senior night which will be on May 1st. We love seeing our JV and varsity boys volleyball team in action. Varsity is currently 4 and4 in league and their senior night will be on April 22nd. Our boys tennis is really, really, really, really good and they love their amazing tennis courts. They are undefeated as well with the 7-0 record and they are first in league. They are looking forward to their senior night which will be on April 24th. And then swim. We love seeing our swim team compete
050over right over at the community pool. They had a great senior night on Tuesday and they are excited for prelims and finals. We also have so many people on track this year and it's super exciting to see so many of them compete. Their senior night was also on Tuesday and they are also looking forward to prelims and finals. Um I wanted to say congratulations to Miss Hall for winning the Golden Bell award. We love and appreciate Miss Hall so much at the high school. She is very hardworking and always helping others. Thank you for your hard work. And I also wanted to mention that uh if you guys know Casey Martinez, a well-known student at the high school, he will have a small part during grad the graduation ceremony. And as the school year comes
051to the end, we are excited to end the 2024 2025 school year on a high note. The students as well as myself are thrilled for all the exciting events and the end of the year to come. Thank you. Thank you very much, Priscilla. Um, I think if if I were to put all of that in my calendar, I think it would start to smoke. Uh, so I'd be very interested to to see your calendar. But thank you so much for sharing everything that is going on at DHS. It's a very happening place and uh I'm I'm glad that we get to hear uh and experience a little bit of that through you and your reports. So, thank you very much. Um, all right. Um, Miss Diaz, would you mind making an announcement about translation services?
052I neglected to ask that earlier. I'm sorry. Sure. Thank you very much. All right. Uh we'll now move on to Dr. Hillman and her superintendence report. Thank you, Dr. Finley. Good. Good evening, everybody. As we approach what's almost six weeks now of the final six weeks of the school year, I hope that everyone is feeling energized and ready for a strong finish. While schools were on break last week, um our expanded learning program had remained active across all ourmies, offering meaningful enrichment opportunities for our students, which me brings me to remind everyone that registration is now open for our free summer school program for currently enrolled Dart Unified students. This is a great opportunity for both academic support and enrichment. So, secure your spot today. Uh we are as as Priscilla mentioned we're in now
053in the midst of so many exciting end of the year events including our open houses that have been h happening across all of our schools. I just wanted to the board I know we've been all attending them but I just wanted to point out that it's really heartwarming to see so many proud families and parents listen as their children confidently shared what they've learned and articulated their growth with such clarity and enthusiasm. Even the littlest ones are able to do that. Um, and if you've been driving down Central lately, you'll see that our new gem gym is looking incredible. And although we've faced a few delays typical of major construction projects, we're excited that plans have recently been improved to complete the newly added required roof access walkways. Um, and once the final inspections are
054complete, which do take time, our athlete athletic our athletes will be able to use this world-class facility. We really look forward to welcoming the entire community to see firsthand what Dart's shared vision has helped create. And as this project nears completion, we're preparing for the next phase of campus upgrades. Tonight, the board will consider the sale, as Mr. Kim shared with us the measure esbond to fund these future improvements. Um these plans include relocating MIT and upgrading it to a more accessible site west of Jardy High School campus and moving the child development program to a centralized location at Kel and Buenav Vista right on the adjacent to the uh Beersley campus. The upgrades are there also upgrades are planned for in this relocation for the Beardsley campus including specialized classrooms for their students for
055art, music, and science and and locker rooms. So, as a heartfelt thank you finally to all of our families, staff, and community for your continued engagement in board meetings. I know we don't have a lot of folks here tonight. As as Miss Castillo mentioned, her her students um with so many with student state testing going on, they want everyone wants their kids in um bed early. Um and so I know that our your engagement is out there and online in our board meetings and at our school events. I see so many families out there. I just want to remind you that your voice, your presence, and your participation are critical as a partners in our students success. you really helped the shape of the future of education in Dwarte. That concludes my report. All right.
056Thank you very much, Dr. Hillman. Appreciate that. Uh we'll now move on to a public request to address the board. And I believe I see at least one yellow card here. Do we have any more other than that? No. No, Dr. I'm going to call and forgive me if I don't get the right uh pronounce Erica Euing. would you come up to the podium, please? You'll have three minutes when you get started, please. Good evening. Um, I'm here in regards to a situation that happened with my grandson and it was a fight that he had at his school and um my concern is um why when children have fights at um at school I know there is a suspension that takes place but when a child is defending themselves I I don't feel that it's
057fair that the child that's defending themselves gets the same suspension that the child who initiated it. That's one. Two, I don't know if um the Deward school district has ever taken into consideration in-house suspension because when children miss school, which they miss so much already due to sickness, due to holidays and spring breaks, so forth and so on, that them missing anything for a actual fight or anything like that. How come they can't stay at least come to school and still be taught whether it's with a behavioral counselor or a behavioral aid uh taking over that class and them being able to continue to learn? Because when you're at home and you have a question, how can you ask to take care of that? You know what I'm saying? So I when I raised my
058children, I raised them in the Clark County School District and that is what something that they had. Not saying and I'm just bringing this to a suggestion to the Darty School District because so many kids are left behind due to things like this. And if you have missed two days of school and you have a question, who are you going to call? You're going to call the school and ask the teacher or you who is teaching a class. It's just not fair to the child themsel to me and to other people as well. And I do know that in these my son, my grandson and his the person he had to fight with, they were friends and they're when they decided to do the suspension, which was three school days later, they're in the office
059chitchatting and talking to each other. So at that time the principal to me could have made a a an executive decision to say you know what they're getting along they're fine why continue the suspension let's just move forward and let them come back to class instead of missing school for two two days two full days I just want to address it and I think that it's something that could be taken into consideration to have in-house suspension depending on the severity of the That's it. Thank you for your comments. We'll have staff follow up. I think we have another yellow card. We have another public comment. Is that right? That's fine. That you can handle. No, you're fine. You can you can stay right up there. Um Danielle. Oh. Vandy Wettering. Thank you. I'm sorry. Vander
060Wetering, good evening. You have three minutes. I'm like, it probably be a while till I'm here again. Um, mainly uh since I first started coming, um, and kind of looking through the history, I've been talking a lot and kind of going through it. So, I just want to kind of openly talk out some thoughts that maybe you guys, if you want to email me or like direct me afterwards or whatever because there's questions that I'm trying to come across. and also maybe a vision that I see. Um so especially because I've been focusing on the andorty site um and then watching the city council and seeing their understanding of how it's kind of like a chain reaction and so watching the um talks that were made that are recorded um the volume is very terrible
061and so in my classroom I have to put it all the way up to even hear what's being talked about. um I can't find what they're looking at during the conversations. Um a lot of great questions um that were asked a lot of the similar questions that I was being asked in my own head. I don't by the end of everything I don't I feel like they were indirectly kind of answered um but also very limited and especially with the um data that was used at the time. So maybe uh 2016 data for the 2023. uh my questions that I post out for the last two bonds to hear in that meeting for the Andra store to consider what to happen. It said that no facility improvements have been made for 25 years to Andra
062Stewarty. So it was almost like it's being put up to fail in order to kind of like where everything happened. So my concern is all those voters who did vote on the first bond and the second bond um they never got to see it in the facilities. Maybe they said it technology and that was kind of mentioned. Um, but in the sense of a future bond and having the public feel like, hey, what's going to happen next? Um, but in the sense of where we are now isn't the original vision and seeing how the I seen the how K8s are working. Um, Andrew story once before was a middle school and the thing is as we have more units to whatever happens, it's done. And I don't feel confident from all the research that was
063done even um knowing that we don't have child care above the freeway um knowing that we are losing space when the diamonds are kind of moved around and what the city talked about hey in general we are losing more space for the public. Um this is a town fill. I was just at the baseball game yesterday and to be in that space and to look and have my son there it the town is a town and that's what I grew up in but we're kind of closing in. We can't guarantee there's going to be another baby boom if another war happens. We can't guarantee in 50 years. We can't Millennials are now just having kids. My brothers just got married. My cousins are moving back in with their parents and and coming with children. Can
064we guarantee that we're going to give the same upbringing that my mom had that I had to the future that comes or are we going to become a concrete jungle? this home, this place, what makes Dory filled with parks and space is what brings people and families to come. That's what they're looking for. Thank you. Thank you very much. And that concludes our public comment. All right. Thank you very much. Uh we'll now move on to the uh approval of the minutes for the special meeting that took place on March 10th as well as the regular meeting of the board that was held on March 15th. Do I have a motion to approve the minutes? Move to approve. Second. Motion by board member Reyes, second by board member Hogin. Is there any discussion? Seeing none,
065all those in favor say I. I. I. Any against? None. 50. And that passes. Uh, next we'll move on to the approval of the consent calendar. So, the next item of business is the adoption of the consent calendar. Does anyone have any items that they would like to remove for separate discussion or action? Seeing none, um, may I have a motion to approve the consent calendar as presented? So, move. Motion by board member Diaz. Second. Second by board member Ogin. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say I. I. I. I. Any objection or no votes? Seeing none, it's a 5 for that passing. All right. Um, next item is the construction and modernization project update for April 2025. Uh that's just to receive for information. So I'd encourage the community to go ahead
066and take a look at that to get the updates. Um next is the first reading of the board policies. Can I have a motion to approve? So move. Second. Motion by board member Diaz, second by board member. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say I. I. Opposed? None. 50. Next item uh is 14.1. This is the proclamation number 16-24-25 which declares May 14, 2025 as day of the t-shirt. Can I have a motion to approve? So move. Second. Motion by board member Diaz, second by board member. Is there any discussion? Seeing none. All those in favor say I. I. I. Any opposed? Motion passes. 5 Z. Next item. Proclamation number 1 19-24-25 declaring May 18th through the 24th, 2025 as classified school employee week. Is there a motion to approve? Move to approve.
067Motion by board member D or board member Reyes. Is there a second? Second. Second by board member Hasso. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say I. I. I. Any opposed? Seeing none, motion carries. 50. Next, we have item 15.1, which is the county district school code for the Darti Adult School. Do I have a motion to approve? So move. Motion by board member Diaz. Second. Second by board member Hasso. Any discussion? Yes, I I did read the agenda, but I would like to have a little bit more clarification for the public to know. Absolutely. I'll ask Dr. Lawson. This is an item for med services to give some more information. I know she has some other folks here as well. Um, yes. And Mr. Morris, if you can please come on down and
068share this information for the public. Thank you. Good evening all. Good evening. Uh yes. Um fire away. Perhaps you could start by just sort of for clarification for the whole for everybody. Let's just start there. What is a CDS code and how does this benefit our adult adult school? So let me just kind of start from the beginning without going longwinded. Uh we've always run an adult ed program uh through Mount Olive uh under uh ED code 44865 which allows us to teach adults um at an alternative setting. So we've always used that. Uh we started working with the Citrus College Adult Ed Consortium uh 10 years ago which includes us Monrovia um uh ZUSA and uh Claremont and then who's the other one more? Yeah. Um so those are the the five that work
069in our consortium. Um as a result um those other school districts have a CDS code which allows which means it's a separate school. Um because we ran the program it was a program so we can only take so many students and receive only so much funding. So now by receiving the CDS code, we'll be able to receive uh more of the five and a half million dollars that are being uh funneled through the consortium. Um and we'll be a larger part of that. It helps the consortium grow as well too. So they'll receive more funding. We'll get more funding to you know uh um hire more teachers uh for adult ed and uh bring in more classes and more programs for the adults. And that's why we see more adults uh graduate. Yes. Yes, definitely.
070We've doubled from last year already and we we have an adult enrolling uh uh next next Monday, matter of fact. Yeah, that's great. So, really growing. Sure. And I think we we at graduation last year there was a was it a mother and son that both graduated? Yes. Yeah. And we have that same thing this year. Oh, that's exciting. Very exciting. It is to see them coming back and and uh um and finding out you know that they can you know improve you know their education which helps improve their child's education as well and get some motivation. So it's it's great program. Excellent. Uh so I um I wanted to just ask so this sounds like it's a very good move for us and something um that we uh would would bring in more funding
071and everything. So, I'm I'm just curious, is there a reason why we haven't done it up to this point? Is there something that kind of did the scales tip? I think of just the number of of students. We never received a lot of students. So, at that time, um Flint, Ferdick, and and John over in Monrovia were like, "Hey, once you guys get enough students, why don't you guys apply for the CDS code?" And we reached that point. So, we went ahead and and uh applied for it. We were running which you were part of as well and some of the other participated in the parent university but we weren't receiving the same funding because they were just classes you know for the for the parents to uh participate in. Excellent. All right that sounds
072good. Board any other questions? Um yes. How many do we currently have students as far as the adults? Uh it's as of Monday it will be a total of 27 adults. Yeah. Great. Thank you. 27. So, we're excited. That's great to hear. Thank you. That's why I like to people to hear about this. It is it is amazing to see parents and students graduate at the same time and that help our kids to believe that education is never late. I mean, it's always good to pursue our dreams. So, thank you, M. We have one student that was coming all the way from Compton on the bus. Wow. two hours to pre-est and post- test and get help if she needed help. And uh she's actually graduating, she's been in the program two years, so she's
073actually graduating this year. And it's just exciting to see that and see people motivated and to come so far. Um I think the thing that's unique about ours compared well uh Glendor has the same program um is that ours is online. So it's convenient for for the parents to to work and and Mr. Lanica does a great job of supporting the parents online with a lot of his visual aids that he uses. So, it's like being in person, you know, there with them. Not quite, but it it does gets the job done. So, thank you. Sure. You're welcome. Great. Thank you very much. Thank you. All right, board. Um, so we've already had a motion and a second on this. So, uh, if there's no other items of discussion on this, I will go ahead
074and call for a vote. All those in favor say I. I. I. Uh, any opposed? None. Motion carries. 50. Uh, next is 15.2, which is implementation of Senate Bill 554. Uh, is there a motion? So, move information only. No. Uh, no. That's That's uh the next item. Well, I don't know. I have on here a motion in a second. Oh, okay. This one is information only. Okay. Well, got got some bonus discussion out of that at no cost. All right. So, that's information only. Uh item number 15.3. Um which is also for information only. So, this is the 2425 end of year articulation calendars. Uh so encourage the community to go ahead and take a look at that to try to keep all of the end of the year activities uh straight. Uh all right,
075moving on to 16.1. Uh this is to establish a district merchant account with Banner Bank. Can I have a motion to approve? So move. All right. Motion by board member Reyes or we we'll say board member Reyes and a second by board member Diaz. Is there any discussion board? Um, yes. Could this uh be explained to the community why we need this? Absolutely. Miss Bell, would you like to answer the question and explain how we're um the benefits of having this uh merchant account? So, our merchant account So, our merchant account is for convenience for our community. A lot of things that we take are by check. And so now they can actually use their ATM card or some form of electronic payment to pay for um technology repairs to pay for their student accounts,
076things like that. Um the donation accounts um our developer fees. So it's for the community and for our parents too. Retire I'm sorry. Also the retirees, they send in personal checks. So, it's easier just to be able to use it this way and then their their monies are moved faster and processed. Thank you. You're welcome. Excellent. Yes, I'm I'm thrilled that we're going to be able to start using uh cards for some of these transactions because I I do not carry cash with me very often, which has been sort of my saving grace. When the kids ask for money, I say, "Ah, sorry. I don't have any cash." But um then they remind me about Venmo and there goes my excuse. Anyway um so any other items uh or any discussion on this board? All
077right. So all those in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Seeing none, motion carries. 50. Next 16.2 amendment of agreement number one with Michael Baker International Incorporated to provide environmental assessment. All I have here is environmental. So, let me look in another version of the agenda and see. Sorry, it says environmental what? Oh, okay. Quality. Environmental quality act. Oh, okay. So, this is the squa analysis. Is that correct, Dr. Helman. Okay. Um, so is there a motion to approve this amendment to the agreement? So move. Motion by board member Diaz. Is there a second? Second. Second by board member Hin. Any discussion on this board? Yes. Don't I I had asked uh Dr. Hillman, don't we have a better photo of this that what came with the attachment? It's hard to read and understand where
078um where the buildings are supposed to go, you know, and so I'm I'm uh I wish there was a better one and and somebody here to explain where everything is going because I see like parking lot is in a different spot now and and this is the high school property I'm referring to. So what we're I see what you're saying. So, what we're going to be doing is as plans get moved forward from DSA, we're going to be bringing all the plans forward for the board to review and approve for the upgrades and any of the moves that we have coming. This is part of But does that mean I can get a better photo? No. Well, this is this is just a preliminary photo. So, there there plans now are being put together for
079uh the move with our construction firm. I'm speaking on behalf of Miss Miss Bell, but I'll let her continue that moving forward, but that we know we have that coming forward to the board so we can get a real clear picture as to what everything where everything's going to be. Yeah. Because right now I I was well what I was told was you know it's going to be encro it's going to be encroaching the school on where the where the girls softball um diamond is at. And um this photo doesn't tell me anything. It's still showing the original diamonds. you know, it's showing that we have two of them and and I just I don't see the space unless we're only playing one game at a time where before you were able to play multiple
080games. So that's I'd like to know what you know more about this because I was not part of the board that approved this. So the item is for Michael Baker for the environmental part portion of it or what he's going to do regarding that. I'm not sure about the plans you're referring to, but the plans are coming. They should be in the board meeting if not made for the June board meeting. So you'll have a clearer copy and the most accurate copy because they are with DSA at this time. So, but the item is regarding the SQA part of so so misspelled just just so I guess we're clear about this the the I mean the attachment does show sort of the it's a satellite view then superimposed with the plans but when when we're
081voting on this we are not voting to approve this drawing or anything just the approval of doing the squa analysis. Okay. I just want to make sure because yeah I I have similar questions um about whether you know sort of the layout of this field and everything. So it'd be good to but as long as we're not approving this it's just the the analysis for SQA then um that's helpful to know the item is for the squa. Okay. All right. I was I was wondering um if we can have a walk through the uh site to see where it's going to be like the questions that I have before like where exactly MIT is going to be and so I think it will be helpful for all of us in order to be able to
082tell the community where it's going. Great idea. So yeah, I think if you Thank you. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. We'll wave that. Great idea board. Thank you. Uh any other items of or things to discuss about this particular item? All right. Uh seeing no other comments to be made, uh we'll go ahead and vote on this. All those in favor say I. I. I. Any opposed? Seeing none, motion carries. 50. Next is 16.3 which is resolution number 20-24-25 which is a resolution of the board of education of the Darti Unified School District authorizing the issuance of Darti Unified School District election of 2020 general obligation bond series C and actions related there too. Do I have a motion to approve? So move. Second. Motion by board member Diaz, second by board member. Any discussion
083board? Seeing none, all those in favor say I. I. I. Any opposed? Seeing none, motion carries. 50. Uh, next we have the uh annual measure E general obligation bond program audit report for the fiscal year 23 24. Do I have a motion to approve? So moved. All right. We'll we'll we'll let uh the motion be uh by Mr. Reyes, second by board member Diaz. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say I. I. I. Any opposed? Seeing none, motion carries. 50. Next is the annual measure S general obligation bond program audit report for 2324. Do I have a motion to approve? So moved. Second. Motion by board member Hasso, second by board member Reyes. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say I. I. I. Any opposed? None. Motion carries. 50.
084Next, we have a services proposal with Enlightened for the early childhood classroom relocation plan. Do I have a motion to approve? So move. Second. Motion by board member Diaz, second by board member Oeen. Any discussion? Yes. Could that be explained to the community, please? Absolutely. Miss Bell, would you like to share with the community what that the services involved with with Enlighten? So because of this is a state uh preschool, we have to have certain licensing requirements and this company is there to make sure that we are compliant in moving the preschool and following the um licensing guidelines and what should be outlined for the move. Thank you. You're welcome. All right. Any more discussion board? Um just a question for Dr. Hillman. Uh we will going to have a versley the uh child who
085um one of the sites but also Maxwell will continue as one of the sites. That's correct. Maxwell will the program will continue at Maxwell but the other um preschool offices, child development offices and the full daycare will be at Bearsley the newly upgraded site there. And do you know how many classrooms we will have at Versley? Up at the at the edge. Yes. At the I don't want to speak off the top of the cup. Right. No, that's fine. I'll get I'll get it for you. Thank you. I I also That's okay. But also, I think it will be helpful for the board to know exactly what's going to be located and all that. So, thank you. Yes, I made a note of that for the kind of a walk through. Thank you. All right.
086Uh, any more discussion, board? All right, seeing none, we'll go ahead and vote on this. So, all those in favor say I. I. I. Any opposed? Seeing none, motion carries. 50. Next item is authorization to revise certification of signatures. Do I have a motion to approve? So moved. Second. Motion by board member Reyes. Second by board member. Board member Hasso. Any discussion board? Seeing none, all those in favor say I. I. I. I. Any opposed? Seeing none, the motion carries. 50. Next is uh item number 16.8, which is just to receive for information. This is about the increase in the purchase order for Ericson Hall for construction management services for the Kenneth M. Bell Gymnasium project. We're just receiving for information. Um, all right board, we're now moving on to uh item number 17, which
087is non-aggendaized items. So, um, why don't we go ahead and start with um, board member Hasso. Certainly, thank you so much. Um, just can't believe it's already the middle of April and we are approaching the end of the school year and a lot of exciting things. uh we heard about Royal Oaks and I've also had the opportunity along with many of you up here too to visit the open houses at the other schools and really that's just an opportunity for them to shine. So for the teachers to shine, for their students to shine and that's just what they did and so it was wonderful to be able to um see all of their hard work uh showcased. Um, I know testing is a big thing and it's always um comes with some anxiety and you
088know it's high stakes and high pressure. I just want to remind everyone that all of the work's been done all school year and um just like open house, this is your time to shine. And so, you know, think of it that way. And um our seniors who are getting ready to graduate, look forward to that next month. Um, very exciting and all of the students who will transition from eighth grade over to the high school. So, yeah, I think that's all I have to say for tonight. Great. Thank you very much, Dr. Hoso. Um, let's see. Priscilla, can you go next? And and if if you want, you can share with the the community what your plans are for next year if you would like. No pressure. Yes, I'd love to. So, I have decided
089to commit to the California State University of San Marcos. Awesome. Congratulations. Thank you. So, I'm really excited. Yeah, I did forget to mention I know our open house is DH High School's open house is next week. Yep. I forgot to mention. So, I hope to see you guys there and I'm excited to see you guys all throughout May. Excellent. Thank you very much. All right, Mr. Reyes. Yes, thank you. Okay, it was great. It was great visiting uh all the schools open at open house. Um and thank you for having them save parking spots for us cuz Maxwell, oh my gosh, that was a nightmare for me. I got there a little late. I saw her walking Dr. Russell walking from a distance. I said, "Oh my gosh, I'm in trouble. I'm going to be
090walking further than her." Um, but but anyway, everybody, you know, was doing a great job and I was glad to see the families and the turnouts. That was that was a a good thing, positive thing. Um, a few things to uh follow up with you. Uh um sorry my mind right now. Um let's see. We um when I when I went to when I went to the track meet, the all schools track meet uh I had went I went into the snack bar and I noticed that the ice machine was not was not working or or even replaced. So I don't know if it's been fixed since then. Um also the junior high follow up with that about the heater. Okay. Um, let let me know where that's at. And I don't know if any
091of you walked out on our field at the high school, our football field. That field is just completely worn out. It is basically gone. And I was talking to some parents, some of the football parents, and I said, "Man, none of the kids got hurt. twisted an ankle, hurt shoulder, and they said, "Yes, some of the kids got hurt." It's like running or working or playing on concrete. We need to get that board. We need to get that changed fast cuz it, you know, there might be an incident that happens and we're held liable. So hopefully we can get together and find out what's going to cost and use the bond money, you know, to get that thing back up to par and and this time maintain it the way it was originally supposed to
092be maintained. You know, we need to take care of these things. It's a huge investment. Um, looking at that gym, the new gym. Oh my gosh. We are definitely going to need I know you're not going to want to hear this, Miss Bell, but we are going to need a new custodian, another full-time custodian to help over there at that high school. I I was sad to see how our bathrooms turned out after redoing them back in 2011 for, you know, the new the new field and they haven't been maintained well, you know. So, I I want to make sure that we have enough enough people to help, you know, maintain our investment. That's a that's a huge it's a huge investment, you know, for the community. Um, also to to to follow up to
093Dr. Hillman, are are we going to open up the tennis courts to the community anytime soon? Um, I don't know if we went through because you were mentioning to me about with the city um, and you were waiting on something. And I can't remember what you had told me, but um yeah, I'd like to know cuz people are asking me, you know, if they can go and play tennis out there in the evening especially. Um everybody, I hope you who who celebrate now Easter, I hope you have a happy Easter. And Raina, please help me. Um, is it is it Jose um Lopez that passed away? He lives Maria's husband. I'd like to to close in honor of him. Okay. Yeah, it's on on the agenda. Oh, okay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All
094right. Thank you very much, Mr. Reyes. Um, Miss Holene, I'm next. Yes. Well, I'm excited. Um, I've been seeing the progress at the gym and um, it's really exciting. So, hopefully by next year we'll be able to use it and welcome the community. I'm excited. It's almost the end of the year. I can't believe it. I mean, graduation time. I mean, we only have one more meeting with Priscilla. I'm going to miss her, but I'm happy for her. Um, you know, we have We have what? We have all the events, awards, scholarships, promotion, graduation. I mean, wow. It's like a little over a month. Just this year's gone by fast, but just excited of all the stuff going on and the great work that's being that's happening at our district. Thank you. And everybody have
095a great Easter. Absolutely. All right. I will go ahead and go next and then is it okay if you go after me? Okay. Um so, uh two two quick things. One, um the the district track meet was really exciting to go to. Um it was you know, it it is so so inspiring to see. Um you know, my my favorite my favorite thing is to have is I think it's the 50 yard dash that the little kids do. I I I just I don't remember my legs ever moving that fast, but maybe they did. But it is it is just so fun to see them go. That's true. Maybe my legs were never that short. I don't know. Um but you know it's it is really fun to to see them out there competing and
096and in addition to that um there there were so I mean something that big doesn't happen without literally hundreds and hundreds of hours of volunteer work. Um it it is you know and that that is members of the community um staff you know for DUSD and parents and students. I mean, there there were so many people volunteering there and they're just there to to do good and um I I hope that is one of those, you know, those life lessons that Miss Castillo talked about that that we want our kids to come away from school having that that civic mind um where they want to give back to their community and and I can see that that is alive and well in our our Darti community. So, really inspiring to see that and I'm I'm
097thankful um that we all got to participate in that. Um and then, uh lastly, I just wanted to mention since this will be happening before our next board meeting is going to be the state of the city and state of the school district, uh event, which will be next week on is it the 23rd or the 24th? 24th. Thank you very much. Um so, please uh attend if you can. It should be an excellent event. It's going to be, you know, right here, um, at the Jardi Community Center. Um, there will be a reception to follow and it should be a great time to highlight all the great things that we have going on in the city and in the school district. So, u, I'm looking very much forward to that and I hope you
098all can make it. Um, so I think that's it for me. So, I'll turn the time over now to Vice President Diaz. Thank you, Mr. President. Um I would like to say that um I know it's not the last meeting but Priscilla will be here just for to say goodbye soon. But I will say that um you cannot be so successful as you are if it wasn't for that lady that's sitting here every night of every single meeting. And uh I seen that um successful and all the accomplishment that many of our students do is because they have great parents. Sometimes we have so many parents that they don't know how to read or write in Spanish and it's hard for them to support their kids. But I can tell you that if any parent,
099even if they don't write or read, sit next to their kids when they are doing homework, they will be successful. And so, you are blessed to have a mother to support you. And we hope to see you. I'm not going to be here. I know that for sure. But I hope to see you after you graduate with your masters and doctors. Um, so thank you. Thank you for supporting your daughter. Um, I also want to say thank you to Richard. Richard, you are um a person that goes beyond your duties and I seen how many times you have support hundreds of students in our district. Of is a part of our family. you receive a lot of our kids that goes from our district to your school, but they also return to our district. And
100I can tell you there are many of the students that I know personally know that have gone to a tours and educational trips to Mexico and other countries that they might not have again that opportunity. But you have been able to allow them to know other countries and to know what they can accomplish if they continue with education. Um so I am very very um humbled to say that um I feel part of OFL because I know many of the students that goes there from my church from my community and so thank you and um thank you for being here to support our meetings too. Uh what can I what what else can I say? Thank you. Thank you to uh all the right hands of Dr. Hillman that are sitting here in our meetings
101too. Thank you for help me to understand sometimes what I can understand when I'm reading the agenda when I'm reading all the information that is so hard that sometimes believe me I am on my table working with my agenda and I have to go this way. Alexa, what did this word means? And then Alexa, tell me to understand fully understand everything that I'm reading. So it is helpful to have technology. But thank you for taking my call when I need some answers to make the right decisions. And what can I else can I say to Dr. Hmon? Thank you also for giving me your time that when I need answers to and also to Mercedes to help me uh to go and make sure that that I get through everything when my computer gets messed
102up. Mercedes is not working. Can you help me? And so thank you to all of you to make Raina Diaz to be successful in this journey. I'm gonna read a very very tiny letter and I'm so I bear with me please. You left me at the end before, Dr. Hillman. Too bad. Don't do it again. I'm gonna read a a short letter to you. August 19, 1997. Mrs. Diaz, Mrs. Raina Diaz, and then my addressing. Dear Raina, congratulations and your candidacy to election to the to the board of education in November if successful. I know you will be an outstanding board members since we are in transition as a new superintendent. Join us join join joins the district and in deep orientation will be scheduled later in September. In the interim interim I am enclosing
103some information you might wish to review. I be happy to answer any questions you might have. Once again, best wishes to you and your upcoming election. Sincerely, Mrs. Marsha McBay. That letter I received it in 97. She didn't know what she was saying and I'm still here. 20 27 years after that, I'm still here. And so my heart goes to every student, every teacher. I wish I can win the lottery and bring some millions and do my best part. Thank you. Good night. All right. Thank you very much, Miss Diaz. Uh, all right. I think that is it. Unless Dr. Hillman wanted to say something. My gift to everybody is to say good night. I'm looking at my staff right now, my my team right now going, I'm not going to talk. All right, we've
104been all working out very hard. Thank you, board, for Yes, absolutely. Okay, then with that, we will then move on to the adjournment. Uh, we will be I'm looking for a motion to adjurnn in memory of Eric Prince and Jose Lopez. Do I have a motion to adjurnn in their honor? So moved. Second. Motion by board member Reyes, second by board member Diaz. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say I. I. Thank you very much. Board, everybody, you get a signature.