FJUHSD Board Meeting 4/14/2026

001Mhm. >> Mhm. >> Good evening, everyone. I'd like to call the meeting back to order, uh the regular meeting, and invite um Chester, I think he's going to do the flag salute for us, please. Thank you. >> Please stand. Place your right hand over your heart and repeat after me. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. >> I'm just going to read all of them. >> Okay. Uh the next item on our agenda is disclosure of reportable actions taken In closed session, the board and board took action by Dr. Calhoun seconded and Dr. Jang by action by In closed session, the board took action by Dr. Calhoun

002seconded by Dr. Jang. The motion was carried by unanimous vote to authorize the superintendent or designee to notice 27.8 FTE full-time equivalent teachers on temporary contract on or before date of release from district employment at the conclusion of the current 25-26 school year pursuant to Ed Code section 44954B. The uh superintendent's executive assistant, Ms. Asegura, has the employee numbers and will include them in the minutes. All right, next on the agenda is item three, which is approval of the minutes of the last meeting. Is there a motion? >> Move approval. >> Move by Move by >> I did this one. >> You get to do you get to do >> It was actually together. Well, moved by uh Dr. Jang, uh seconded >> Lauren, you can I'll do this one. I'll do the next one.

003>> And seconded by Lauren. Uh uh Any questions or comments? All in favor of approval of the minutes, please say aye. >> Aye. >> Opposed? Passed 5 to 0. Next is acknowledgement of correspondence to the board. Any board member have any correspondence to acknowledge? Uh and next, our favorite part, our student board member report. Ariana Machado, will you please tell us what's going on at the schools? >> Good morning, Superintendent Dr. McLaughlin, President Bushy, members of the board, and distinguished guests. I am pleased to present my April student board member report. Last week, we concluded our final student advisory council meeting at Buena Park High School, which also featured our last Cookie Connection session. Dr. McLaughlin was in attendance, and it was a meaningful way to wrap up a year focused on student voice and

004connection. During the meeting, we also played a game of Are You Smarter Than a High Schooler, where our activity directors came on top. In addition, newly elected ASB executive members and student board member finalists were in attendance providing a great opportunity for them to engage with current student leaders at the district level. Looking ahead, interviews for the next student board member and SAC vice chair will be held on April 30th and the selected candidates will be announced at the next board meeting on May 12th. As student board member, I also had the opportunity to serve on the Sonora High School principal interview panel. It was an extraordinary experience to contribute such an important decision and I'm grateful to be a part of a district that truly values student voice. With only one board meeting remaining,

005I'm looking forward to celebrating the end of the year and all that we have accomplished together. Thank you and this concludes my April student board member report. >> Thank you very much. Any comments from any of the board members? Okay, thank you very much Ari, appreciate it. And next are the school reports. Superintendent. >> Thank you President Buchi, members of the board. And for the record, I did not participate in Are You Smarter Than a High Schooler cuz um I know where I would landed. Um but super fun to hang out with you. Congratulations on so much and we look forward to honoring you uh next month, right? Um so, with that we'll go to our school reports. So, Mr. Weinrich, we'll start with you at Sunny Hills and we'll walk down the line. >>

006Thank you Dr. McLaughlin. Good evening President Buchi and members of the board. Uh this uh last weekend over 750 Lancers spent the evening in Paris uh at prom. Okay, it was really Irvine, but it was an amazing night for our students nonetheless. The Paris theme was in full effect with the Eiffel Tower and Ben Yays present alongside all kinds of other fun activities for the Lancers such as multiple photo booths, video games, air hockey, and custom keychain making to remember the night. Congrats to our prom queen Abigail Venya and our prom king Tate Garcia. Also, a huge thank you to our ASB and junior class for putting on another great prom this year. Testing season has begun in the hills also and this week our juniors began their CAST testing as well and I'm excited

007to see how the class of 2027 does on this year's testing. We're also coming up quickly on our AP and IB testing. this year. So far we have 1375 students registered to take an AP test with a total of 2,671 exams to be taken in the over the next month. Both are both of those are increases over last year. And that's in addition to 55 IB students scheduled to take just under 200 exams. So it's going to be a busy May when we get up to next month here. Uh we're also proud that our epic engineering program in the in the Sunny Hills SkillsUSA chapter for their accomplishments at the California State Leadership and Skills conference this past week. As a chapter the Sunny Hills students took home 15 took 15 competitors to Ontario all

008of which placed in the regions to qualify for the state event. And then as a result our chapter was awarded the chapter of excellence gold level distinction award which is awarded to the top 10% of schools across the state and nation. Congratulations to our epic teacher Mr. Martin Rodriguez and all of our amazing engineering students. Uh athletically Lancers kept rolling on into the spring. Boys golf in first place in league and number two overall in CIF. Meanwhile boys tennis is also in first while boys volleyball and baseball both sit in second place and we're excited to see how this season's conclude there. And then tomorrow will be our spring athletic signing day. We have nine amazing student athletes getting recognized to continue their athletic careers in college. And then finally Sunny Hills wants to congratulate

009Dr. Jang in the next chapter of his life and thank him for his unwavering support for our school and for the district as a whole and we wish him nothing but the best. So this concludes the Lancer report for April. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Weinrich from Troy High School, Dr. Minster. >> Thank you Dr. McLaughlin, President Bushi and members of the board. On March 25th 46 NJROTC cadets made the trip to Pensacola, Florida and won the 2026 NJROTC National Championship in academics, athletic and drill. This is Troy's second championship in this particular competition over the past two years last year finishing in second place. The next three events all occurred last weekend. 19 NJROTC cadets traveled to Western Ohio and Eastern Indiana to compete in the 2026 Orienteering USA Junior Nationals as the reigning

010All Service JROTC National Champions. Troy defended their national championship and our NJROTC cadets were once again crowned All Service JROTC National Champions in Orienteering. 91 Troy students competed at the FBLA State Leadership Conference in Anaheim. They competed against 2500 other students and they were fantastic. Troy had 43 top 10 finishers including three new state champions, five new state runner-ups, 29 automatic qualifiers for nationals. It was truly awesome to see our students be rewarded for their hard work. They were model students as always and the next stop is San Antonio, Texas for nationals in June. And then last, Troy Science Olympiad team won the California State Championship at Caltech. This was the 31st California State Championship in a row. The Science Olympiad competition is a wonderful example of our students being able to apply their knowledge

011and Saturday was also a great day for one of our coaches, Mr. Kurt Wall, who was presented with the outstanding coach award. Next is the National Championship at USC on May 22nd and 23rd. It is a great day to be in the Fullerton Joint Union High School District and to be a warrior. Thank you and this concludes my report. >> Thank you, Dr. Minster. From La Vista High School, Mr. Kaiyu Liponi. >> Good evening, Dr. McLaughlin, uh President Buchi and members of the boards of trust board of trustees. It's been an exciting month for our Lions. Our ASB film and film production students put together an awesome prom reveal that uh really got everyone talking. This year's theme is Phantom of the Opera and prom will be held at the Springfield on May 1st. It's

012going to be a great night. As we get close to graduation, reminding our students stay focused, keep earning those credits, and finish strong so we can enjoy the prom to its fullest. Uh we also saw the power of connection at Friendschilla where La Vista and ATP students came together for a day of games, creativity, and community. From cornhole to karaoke, students built friendships and strengthened their sense of belonging. And we want to give a big congratulations to William Tucker for receiving a full ride scholarship into the UC Davis Redwood Seed Scholars Program. This program develops real-world skills, confidence, and strong foundations for future success. We're really proud of William and all of the hard work he put into the Adult Transition Program. Finally, thank you, Dr. Genk, for your service to the district. This concludes

013the report from La Vista La Serna high schools. Thank you, and have a great evening. >> Thank you, Mr. Kayle Poney, from La Habra. Mr. Garcia. >> Thank you, Dr. McLaughlin, President Bushy, and members of the board. Uh we are in the final week of CAS testing. I think the only people who are happy are my juniors. Uh but we're excited to see our students' and staffs' hard work reflected in uh next fall's scores. La Habra was the first Fullerton Joint Union High School District school recognized by Solution Tree as a promising practice school for professional learning community for our initial success in student achievement. This recognition reflects the collective commitment of our teachers, our staff, and our students to have a culture of continuous improvement. By working collaboratively and keeping our focus on learning

014and results, we are creating a meaningful opportunity for every single student to succeed. We're proud of the progress that we have made, and we're dedicated to continue the building the momentum for our entire Highlander community. This past weekend, many of our students and staff came together to attend a deeply meaningful celebration of life for our senior, Melody Miles Sanchez. It was a time to honor her, remember her, and reflect on the impact Miles had on our school community. We are grateful for the opportunity to support one another during such an emotional time and to celebrate a life that touched so many. I would also like to publicly thank Dr. Genk for the support he has provided the Highlander community and me. Uh it's He's a great advocate and supporter for both La Habra schools and

015the district and we are going to miss his presence. Thank you again, Dr. Jang. Thank you and this concludes my report. >> Thank you, Mr. Garcia. From Fullerton High School, Mr. Caffrey. >> Thank you, Dr. McLaughlin. Good evening, Board President Bucci and members of the board. ASB is currently conducting interviews for the 26-27 school year with over 100 incoming freshman applicants. This highly competitive process reflects strong student engagement and leadership interest on campus. Prom will be held on April 25th at the Fullerton Airport showcasing student leadership and school culture through a memorable experience for our students and we're excited for this annual event. Spring athletics continue to have a banner year. Softball is currently ranked number one in CIF and number two in the state as Coach Holton and the team continue a remarkable season.

016Baseball is also having another outstanding year, currently leading the Empire League and pushing for a fifth consecutive league title. Track and field, both varsity teams are two and one positioned to compete for league titles. Highlights include school records by Keeley Gallagher in the in the mile, 5:19 and 800 meter two minutes 20 seconds. Sophia Bottomer ran an 11:27 in the two mile narrowly missing a long-standing record. Tyler Durst's 9:24 two mile, the fastest since 1976. And Jayden Bay ranked top 10 in CIF Division two with a nearly 22 foot long jump. The boys 4 by 800 relay competed at the Arcadia Invitational for the first time in school history and holds a top CIF mark with strong team depth across events. Boys golf is 13 and one and 7-0 in league, currently in first place

017and on track to secure the Empire League championship. And boys tennis is currently 6 and 3 in league and on pace to qualify for CIF playoffs. Fullerton Union High School would also like to thank Dr. Jang for his service and dedication to our schools and district for the past several years. You will be missed. This concludes my board report. >> Thank you, Mr. Caffrey from Buena Park High School. Dr. Burke. >> Thank you, Dr. McLaughlin, President Bucci and members of the board. We are in full fourth quarter swing, midway through our CASP testing, and in recognition season, having just completed our top 100 distinguished scholars event last night. So, thank you, Ms. Bucci, Ms. Klasky, Ms. Foley, and Mr. Hernandez and your team for being there. It is always so meaningful to have you at

018the park. We've had a few firsts for the school happen this past month. Just this past weekend, our advanced robotics and mechatronics urban search and rescue team won first place at the SkillsUSA state competition in Ontario. They will now get to compete on the national level in Atlanta later this year. So, congratulations to our program director Jack Adams and search and rescue team Miguel Diaz and Diego Salgado for completing this journey that began months ago with over 100 teams, and they beat the final 18 for the best in California. Uh the weekend prior, our winter percussion made semi-finals at the Southern California Schools Band and Orchestra competition. Our band has doubled in size over the past couple years, which has also brought incredible growth to our percussion and color guard groups. And speaking of color

019guard, after back-to-back second place finishes in subsequent competitions, they finally broke through and won the whole thing at their latest SCSBOA competition. And this came on the heels of our symphonic band gaining a superior rating, which is the highest level you can get in their last festival of the season. All of these were firsts for the programs, and we are so excited to see what's in store for band next year. And lastly, we got to celebrate another academic signing ceremony with senior Diana Flores earning a first-gen presidential scholarship worth over $360,000 to Bentley University in Massachusetts. She is one of our early college students who will have completed 11 college courses worth almost 40 college credits by the end of her senior year. It was a special moment not only for her and her family,

020but for the program and the school. So, congratulations Diana and congratulations and thank you Dr. Jang for your years of service to the district. You will definitely be missed and this concludes my April board report. >> Thank you Dr. Berg. Last but not least, interim principal Mr. Whitten, Sonora High School. >> Thank you Dr. McLaughlin, President Bushy, members of the board. I'd like to start by highlighting our recent prom in Long Beach, an unforgettable evening where our students danced, connected, and truly represented Raider pride. Congrats to our prom queen. Can you guess? Ariana. >> Yay, Ariana. >> Our arts [clears throat] programs continue to shine as well. Our Sonora dance showcase, Remember When, is on April 24th and 25th and the final performances of Godspell from our award-winning theater department are on April 17th and

02118th. We also proudly celebrated signing day where our student athletes committed to continuing their academic athletic journeys, a testament to their hard work, resilience, and dedication. Our Sonora FFA students earned their state degrees, recognizing excellence in agriculture education, and our JROTC program achieved an incredible review, maintaining honor unit with distinction status. Of course, Sonora would like to also thank and congratulate you Dr. Jang for all of your service. This is a great time to be a Raider. Thank you. >> Thank you Mr. Whitten. This is Mrs. Bushy. >> All right, thank you. Any board member comments? You know, I do have a comment. I usually do. I really appreciate your reports. I said that before and I wanted to thank you too for the invitations that you always send to the board members to attend

022the events. We we come when we can, when we're able. I don't think we hit everything, but it it's so much fun and also it I follow on Facebook and Instagram and and whatever and you fill in all the blanks with the things that I've missed along the way. So again, thank you for always the really enjoyable reports. We appreciate it. All right. Uh now uh timely information from the board and the superintendent. Any timely information? >> I just have one thing. Fullerton College won the championship of Fullerton College won the Fullerton National Championship against San Francisco City College. So and one of our uh students was from Sonora. So I'm really proud that we got someone that caliber to win the championship at Fullerton College. So I just wanted to say that. Thanks. >>

023Probably won because of that Sonora student, right? >> Yes, [laughter] exactly. >> All right, thank you. Any other comments? Mr. Superintendent? >> Thank you, Mrs. Ms. Bushy, members of the board and the audience. And as as the audience and people at home have heard, our our dear uh colleague is emotional, right? Um Dr. Jang is is going to be departing. Uh this is his final school board meeting. And so we're going to take a just a brief moment to honor him and the legacy that that he leaves us in the Fullerton Joint Union High School District and and really give a recognition and we have a little little surprise for him and a lot of board members to say a few words. But Dr. Jang came to us uh almost 8 years ago, right? In

024in the election victory and served almost two terms um with distinction. Um he's been around uh the Fullerton Joint Union High School District both as a community member, but also a trustee and a parent. Um he was on the board during uh COVID, right? And all of these board members were. And um and we appreciate his leadership and their leadership as we navigated those waters. Uh but even more so on a day-to-day basis, uh Dr. Jang has shown his leadership and his way that he communicates um the needs of his constituents, um focuses on kids and works very collaboratively with the board. Uh I personally want to thank Dr. Jang as one of five board members who hired me. Um so, uh very grateful for this opportunity to all the board members. Um but, Dr.

025Jang has been a a great colleague, uh served as the board president uh during our bond election season, um which we were successful in measure L, and now we're doing even more and more and more work. Um but, at the end of the day, uh Dr. Jang is all about the kids. Um he talks about the kids all the time, wants updates about the kids all the time, uh and he wants to do better for the kids all the time. And so, while we're we're losing our colleague, he's moving on uh to a different career path um at dental He's not going to dental school, he's teaching in a dental school uh cuz Dr. Jang is a dentist, uh he's a lawyer, he's an accountant, um he's in the Army Reserves, um and a lot

026of other things. So, um he is a a man of distinction on many levels, but um just on behalf um we got you a little gift. Um well, it's a big gift. So, Dr. Jang is also a world traveler. Um and so, the administrative team which is called FUSD, uh we went ahead and kicked in for a travel backpack, and we put our crest, which is the Fullerton Joint crest on it. And then, when you open inside our our uh our sites wanted to chip in, and so, the bag is full of I'll just say Fullerton Joint love. Um there's hats, there's shirts, there's uh uh mugs, there's a lot of different things. Um but, we wanted you to take a little Fullerton Joint with you as you travel the world, and just say thank

027you for your service. So, thank you, DR. JANG. >> MRS. BUSHY? >> OKAY. >> BOARD MEMBERS? >> AN IDEA the board may have some comments. Vicky, would you like to start? >> All I can say is I'm going to miss him, and he is been I I came on and Joanne and um Mr. Jang had were supporting me through the the thing, and I just I appreciate him. I'm going to miss him. He's super smart. He's kind. He's a family man. He always looked out for all the students at all the sites and we are truly going to miss him. I know I am. So anyway, it's on to you guys. Thank you for all you do. All you did. >> Joanne? >> Thank you. I will miss you also and and I won't reiterate

028in front of everybody. I will never forget the personal kindness you did for me during COVID. Um I I will tear up if I go into detail and I will never forget what you said when I thanked you and you said that's what friends are for. And that really epitomizes who you are as a person. And I also want to point out something people may not know about you. They know about your enthusiasm for students and the district. They may not be aware that you have almost equal enthusiasm for casual dress board meetings which occur >> [laughter] >> in late June and July. And so you won't be able to join us for this year's casual dress but I'll be thinking of you. Anyway, wish you the best. Thank you for years of dedication and

029service and I know you'll do a wonderful job as a professor at the dental college. Congratulations. >> You'll be surprised that we get casual Fridays and I go in very casual too. >> [laughter] >> Not surprised. Lauren? >> Um Chester, I mean there's there's so much to say and I don't want to repeat but when I first met you, I wasn't sure what to make of you. We got elected at the same time and here comes this man and he had all these letters after his name and and I didn't know what to do with a dentist and an attorney. And then during COVID, he went and got his MBA. And and I said of course he did because that's what Chester does and Chester is an inspiration to me. Um whenever I feel lazy,

030I feel like I can't be lazy because Chester wouldn't be lazy. Um but you are a good, kind person, and that has shown through in everything that you have done in your work for this district and for the students here and in every interaction I've had with you. And I am so glad that we got to serve together and became friends through all of this. And it is something that I will keep with me forever. >> Ari, I think you wanted to say >> Yeah. Hi Dr. Jang. Well, I wish you the best in the next chapter of your life. And I just wanted to say thank you for when we used to sit next to each other, you would always pass me desserts and chocolates. [laughter] So, I appreciated that. Yes. But yeah, you'll

031be greatly missed and I appreciate everything that you've done for our district and Sonora. >> Well, it's good to be last because everybody has already said a lot of good things. Uh will miss you a lot, Chester. I'm really sorry to see you depart to new greener pastures perhaps. Uh you know, years ago we had a board member who was a an engineer, uh an attorney, and a teacher. And we used to call him the Renaissance man. Well, now we have a man who is an attorney, a dentist, a professor, and a member of the military. So, I think we've we've hit a new high of the Renaissance man. So, uh to It's been fun to talk to you. It's been fun to hear the journey of your son as he went through Sonora High

032School and his success now as a college student. And we also served on the ROP board together. And he he's known for his stories. The the the board audience would always look forward to what's the story going to be. They will truly miss and we will miss you, Chester. So, the best of luck in in the And then, let us know what you do after this. >> Yes. >> [laughter] >> So, thank thank you for everything you've done for the district. We appreciate you. So, okay. >> Now, it's it has been the honor of a lifetime to serve on this Board of Trustees for the past 8 years. As I prepare to step down, I find myself reflecting on the incredible journey we have shared and the profound impact this district has had, not just

033on our community, but on my own family. When I look back on my tenure, I'm filled with tremendous pride for what we have accomplished together. With a clear focus on strengthening partnerships and advocating for our community, together, we have worked to prioritize building positive collaborative relationships with all members of our organization, including our labor partners, administrators, and all of our employees. We have shown that we are at our best when we work in harmony, recognizing that our staff is the heartbeat of this district. It has also been my honor to voice and advocate for our diverse community, ensuring that every student, regardless of their background, feels connected and supported within our district. As a result, together, we have navigated seasons of great challenge and celebrated monumental accomplishments. Because of our collective efforts, our students have

034excelled in the classroom, on the field, and in all aspects of our community, earning local, state, and national recognitions. During our time together, we also navigated unprecedented weathering the storm of COVID-19. It wasn't always easy, but our focus remained steadfast on the health, safety, and the academic continuity of our students. As we emerge from that experience, we once again came together to build a even more robust programs to support both the academic and social-emotional needs of our students. Over the past 5 years, Fullerton Joint has implemented new programs such as wellness specialist at all sites, expanded our professional learning opportunities for all employees, expanded staffing supports in all areas, and was successful at passing of the Measure O bond, allowing us to modernize our facilities and ensure our students have the safe 21st century learning

035environments they deserve. On a personal note, Fullerton Joint Union has given me so much to my family. Last year, my son graduated from Sonora High School, an experience that prepared him for the next chapter of his life. Thanks to the foundation laid by his teachers and mentors here, he earned a full ROTC scholarship to Princeton University. Seeing him thrive at Princeton is a testament to the quality of education and support found within these walls. As for my board colleagues, I want to express my deepest gratitude for your service and support. It has been a privilege to serve alongside dedicated public servants as yourself. I leave my seat knowing that this leadership team is more than capable of carrying our mission forward. I have full faith that they will continue to lead this district with the

036excellence, heart, and steady hands. Finally, I want to leave you with a message. With absolute confidence, Fullerton Joint Union High School District is a model district. We are fiscally strong, deeply student-focused, and blessed with unparalleled community support. I know that at times community members come to our board meetings with concerns or complaints about how we how the operation is run. While we always welcome feedbacks, I can assure you from the inside that this district is a model of transparency, cooperation, and communication. The systems we have built by design to serve students first, and the integrity of our leadership is second to none. Thank you for trusting me with this responsibility for the past 8 years. I have been inspired by all of our accomplishments and also inspired by knowing that the future of Fullerton Joint

037Union High School District is brighter than ever. With gratitude, thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve as your advocate for the past 8 years. >> [applause] [applause] >> So, as Dr. Jang is going down the row, just for the community's awareness, so the process, our next steps. So, our board is considering next steps and options, which they will deliberate and make a decision at our May board meeting. And there's really two options. One of is to go on a route that appoints a candidate to fill the seat until the election in November, or to go to the election to allow the community to vote, uh, would go to the election in November as well. And so, they're they're under deliberation right now, uh, and they'll be making, uh, their decision in May. So,

038that's our next step. And with that, Mrs. Bushy, that concludes that moment. So, we we have our next agenda item. >> All right, which brings us to updates. Employee Association is Angie Sencac here. Yeah, there you are. Is Bill here? It is a packed house in here tonight. Good evening, President Bushy, Trustees, and Dr. McLaughlin. It is hard to believe that we have only 31 school days left. Six Mondays, if you want an easier count. And one of those Mondays is a holiday. FSTE has been very busy this semester. Our March State Council was filled with many special guests, including National Education Association President Becky Pringle, who gave a memorable and exciting talk to our members. She will be terming out at the end of this summer, but encouraged all of us to forge ahead

039and keep fighting the good fight for our students and our communities. We will be electing a new NEA President during the summer's Representative Assembly in July. Our four of our FST representatives will be travel to Denver to attend the RA July 3rd through 7th, and we'll have much to discuss afterwards. On April 3rd, we celebrated Buena Park teacher Laura Garcia as she received a grant for her tennis team from one of our FST vendors, California Casualty. Representative Janet Charles joined us along with Jim Rogers, CTA staff member, and the Buena Park High School staff. Thank you, Dr. Berg, for allowing us time to celebrate Laura on her win, and congratulations to you, Laura, for applying for the grant. We hope that this inspires more of our FST members to apply for such grants to allow

040to allow them to do what they need to do in order to keep up with their teams. Many of our members have attended conferences this spring and have brought back information and lessons that can easily be applied to the classroom and to leadership structures within FSTO. Our Buena Park site representative Nolena Beecham Beecham attended the inaugural CTA Women's Leadership Conference in San Diego last weekend and brought back information about active bystander training which she believes could be offered to all teachers considering the current political environment. She also reported that there was discussion about the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders which may be need to reviewed by which may be need to be reviewed by FSTO and FJUHSD leadership. More information to come. I am happy to announce that FSTO will be awarding six scholarships

041to seniors who have submitted their application and have declared their major to be in the education field. Those individuals will be pursuing careers in teaching, counseling, school psychologist, nurse, mental health specialist or other certificated positions available to them in a school and school district. We had 21 applications this year and our scholarship committee is in the process of determining the six recipients and it's unfortunate that we can't we can't give all 21 a scholarship. Those individuals will be celebrated at the May 12th FJUHSD Board of Trustees meeting. I am looking forward to learning who those amazing students are, celebrating their accomplishments with them and their families, and learning about their future endeavors in education. And finally, FSTO says goodbye to board member Chester Jang. We will miss you and your leadership. I will miss you.

042Thank you for taking care of our students these past 7 years, for being there for our staff, and for our communities all these years. Chester and I go way back. Those COVID days almost killed us. Thank you for taking my calls. Thank you for responding to my emails in a timely manner, and thank you for sharing your concerns with us so that we can support our teachers. Thank you for all you've done. You will be missed, and I will especially miss you. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Yeah. Uh thank you, Angie. I should have introduced her a little bit more properly. She's uh president of the Fullerton Secondary Teachers Association. And uh next uh is Bill Hager in the audience? >> Of course he is, Gaynor. >> I guess not. Or is there another representative

043from the Classified Employees Association? I guess not. Well, we'll have to wait till next time. So, thank you. Okay, that brings us to the reason that everyone is here. Oh, PTA. Okay. Is the uh Fullerton Council PTA? There you are. Yeah. >> [laughter] >> You were hiding back there with the art. >> Hello. Hello. Good evening, Dr. McLaughlin, President Buchi, and members of the board. I'm Nivi Dewar. I'm EVP of Fullerton Council PTA. I am pleased to present this report representing 24 PTA units from both school districts in Fullerton. As we are heading into testing, end-of-year festivities, and graduation, Fullerton Council PTA membership has currently 4,473 PTA members across our PTA unit schools. It's still not too late. You can still join. Remember your membership and donations can help us in PTA make a positive

044difference on our individual schools and in our students' schools' experiences. And please don't forget uh as of July 1st, those memberships expire. So, join again for this upcoming school year. Our annual state PTA convention is the ultimate PTA leadership experience. Join us in Fresno, or as their marketing is Fres-Yes, on May 1st through 3rd to celebrate over 125 years of changing children's lives. You're an important voice for all children and families. Everybody who attends will be inspired by other PTA leaders and understand the connection to the larger PTA picture. You'll return home with a fresh uh, fresh ideas, improved skills, new friends, and inspiration for the work ahead. Our individual PTA units are wrapping up the process of forming next year's PTA leadership. We would like to take this opportunity to announce our Fullerton Council

045PTA executive board for next year. President is Aleah Cass. Vice President is Jessica T. Secretary is G Young Choi. Membership is Melissa Proctor. And Historian is Nivi Jawar. Treasurer is Ray Gibson. And Financial Reviewer is Annie Haga. And Parliamentarian is Lisa Sherman. We look forward to working together to make next year's school year even better. For all of our new and returning PTA executive boards, there's a great opportunity to learn and grow at the 4th District PTA spring training workshops and vendor fair at the Orange County Department of Education on May 30th from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Please encourage your PTA membership to attend. The 4th District PTA Advocacy Forum will be held on April 24th, and will be about voting and civic engagement. A representative from the Orange County Registrar's office will describe

046how ballots are protected and counted. There There also be information about how to hold a voter registration drive for high school seniors and how PTA can encourage civic engagement. Register on the fourth district PTA website to attend. Our Fullerton Council spring luncheon is Tuesday, April 28th at the Coyote Hills Golf Course at 11:00 a.m. We celebrate the accomplishments of this year and welcome the new PTA presidents for next year along with honorary service awards to community members that have made a difference in our community. We will also be awarding scholarships to some very deserving seniors, so we look forward to seeing you there. All of you should have received your invitation and if not, please let me know or reach out to Dr. McLaughlin or any of your PTA presidents and they know how to

047get a hold of us. As we can just start to glimpse our summer vacation in the not too distant future, just a reminder that our Reflections theme for next year is what my culture means to me. As we want to continue to grow our high school participation in this program, we kindly ask our high school administrators, summer school teachers and parents to encourage our students to work on their Reflections projects over the summer. The perfect answer to that question, I'm so bored, what should I do? Deadlines for submissions will be early October, so it's perfect to work on it during the summer to provide more time. We will reconvene for our monthly council meetings at the start of the next school year. Please feel free to reach out to us at any time at Fullerton

048Council PTA [email protected]. We are always happy to hear from you. Thank you so much and have a wonderful rest of your evening and we wish you all the best in your future endeavors, trusty Chester Ding. And that concludes my report. Thank you. >> Thank you. Do we have Okay. And I believe we have no representative from La Habra Council PTA this evening. And now, I know you were wanting that too, but this is the part that you've all been waiting for. You know, uh you heard some of the principals mentioned uh the top 100 or distinguished scholars nights. Well, those were opportunities to honor our scholars, and tonight I think we get the opportunity to honor our artists and our athletes. So, Dr. >> Thank you, President Bushi, members of the board, and Dr. McLaughlin.

049Yes, you are absolutely right, President Bushi. We have some incredible artists and athletes to recognize this evening. We have the district art show first place winners and our winter sports student athletes to recognize. I'd like to begin by introducing our visual and performing arts teacher and special assignment, Michael Despars, to introduce our first place first place art show winners. >> So, thank you. Um good evening, President Bushi, and board members and Dr. McLaughlin, and our guests who are here tonight. It's my pleasure to introduce the first place winners of the district art show. We are very excited about how this has grown, and it's really exciting to recognize these students. So, we'll start with Buena Park High School represented by educators Alicia Artunday and visual arts chair Marjorie Brown. In photography, Yanitza Ortiz. >> [applause

050and cheering] >> In drawing, Francisco Ruiz. Painting, Cynthia Gonzalez. 3D art, Jordan McKnight. And 2D art graphic design, Breanna Ibarra. >> Congratulations. Congratulations. Casper, you're going to have to take one of these with you for memory's sake. >> [applause] >> And next we have Fullerton Union High School represented by educators Jason Hess, Gabby Kudron, and Megan McCune, and visual arts chair Braden Hall. Uh first place winner in photography, Anaie Lopez. In drawing, Riley Ridge Clark. In painting, Caitlin Rodriguez. In 3D art, Maddie Hotch. And in 2D graphic design, Leila Montanas. >> Great job. >> Thank you. >> Is that your duck? >> Yeah, it is. >> So, there was great ducks. Congratulations. I want to see slime. I need some ducks. And there were just ducks everywhere. >> Hey, IT'S HERE FOR FULLERTON. >> [applause]

051>> AND NOW RECOGNIZING OUR LA Habra High School students represented by educators Aubrey and David Edwards and visual arts chair Anna Sanders. In photography at Eda Austness. >> [applause] >> And I also want to recognize that Eda received a best in show in photography. In drawing Kira Zaschik. In painting Violet Delphine. In 3D art Louise Dominguez. And in 2D graphic design Cash Madrigal. >> That's your full OF HOT AIR. >> [applause] >> AND NOW FOR OUR STUDENT ARTISTS AT LA VISTA High School represented by educators Pamela Alpanar and Joey Flores and Visual Arts chair Steven Ramirez in photography, JESSE CARILLO IN DRAWING, MARLEY Sage Ocampo and in 2D graphic design, Alexander Espinosa. >> [applause] >> And now moving on to Sonora High School represented by educators Deanna Coleman and Fernando Perez uh in photography and

052Cho. >> [applause] >> Drawing, Kaylin Darvin. In painting, Wani Chung. Wani also received the best in show in painting this year. And in 3D art, McKenzie Yang. And lastly, in 2D graphic design, Heaven Bang. >> Troy High AND SONORA. >> [cheering] >> AND NOW OUR STUDENT ARTIST WINNERS from Sunny Hills High School represented by educators Shipley Bates and Vashti Lemus and visual arts chair Preetha Mathen. In photography, Carlos Olson. In drawing, Kesaia Medina, who also was a best in show in drawing. In painting, Jolene Way. And in 3D art, Caden Kang, who is also a best in show for 3D art. And in 2D graphic design, Laurel Henderson. And now our student artist winners from Troy High School, represented by educators Christian Nguyen and visual arts chair Mike Thomas. In photography, we have Bohan Fang.

053In drawing, Naomi Smith In painting, Kayla Kim and in 3D art, Jimena Gutierrez. Yes, oh, and 2D gra- sorry, 2D graphic design, Audrey Kim. So, I just wanted to end by uh thanking our district leadership for the support um with our district-wide events and also the Muckenthaler Cultural Center who's been a really good community partner and allows us to hang in their gallery. So, thank you so much. >> Thank you, Mr. Despars. Fantastic job. It's now my pleasure to introduce our athletes and our coaches. We're going to begin with Buena Park High School and our athletic director, Michael Terry. >> Thank you, President Bucci, members of the board, and Superintendent McLaughlin. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight and continued support of our athletes. I am here with Coach Emily Jenkins and Betsaida Ortiz,

054a senior, captain, and Masters qualifier for Buena Park High School. She was a CIF placer, a two-time league champion, and placed in five varsity tournaments this season. And she had an overall high school record of 29 and 22. Betsaida Ortiz. >> [applause] >> And now from Fullerton Union High School, our athletic director, Joseph Olivas. President Bucci, board members, Dr. McLaughlin, thank you for having us here tonight. FUHS is proud to present our girls wrestling team under the guidance of our head coach, Jason Baxter. We present three outstanding young ladies that have represented Fullerton well in the past winter. Our first person up is Isabella Luna, a 2025 CIF placer, second place in the Golden Empire Conference, third place in CIF Southern Section, fourth place CIF Masters, and CIF State Qualifier. >> [applause] >> Our next

055wrestler is Natalie Godinez. Placed second in the Golden Empire Conference, placed sixth in the CIF Southern Section, and was a CIF Masters Qualifier. >> [applause] >> And finally, but not least, Jasmine Abenobi. Placed second in the Golden Empire Conference, was a placer for the 2025 CIF Southern Section, finished fifth place for the CIF Southern Section, was also a Masters Qualifier, and was the CIF State Champion in ninth grade girls wrestling. >> [applause] >> This is our girls wrestling team. Now, from La Habra High School, our Athletic Director, Mr. Paul Caffrey. >> THANK YOU, PRESIDENT BUCHI, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD and Superintendent McLaughlin. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight and the continued support of our athletes. Our first group, come on up forward, we would like to recognize as our Division III Co-Ed Champion

056Cheer Team. Thank you. Our team is represented by head coach Allison Morrissey and captains Jayden Aguilera, Caitlin Brooks, Kylie Caffrey, Kaylee Casey, Isabella Jimenez, and Harmony Laing. This is our third CIF championship since 2020. Coach Allison Morrissey also received CIF coach of the year and Caitlin Brooks, Kylie Caffrey, and Isabella Jimenez all received all CIF honors. Congratulations to our team for this amazing achievement. >> [applause] >> Also, we have the pleasure of having two individuals qualify for us in CIF CIF Masters this year. For our girls, we have senior Katherine Herrera who went 12 and four on the season and qualified for her third Masters. And for our boys, we have sophomore Caleb Ortiz who went 40 and 10 on the year and qualified for his second Masters just as a sophomore. Also, our coach

057coach Andrew Ramos is representing our team tonight. Thank you. >> Good job, guys. >> [applause] >> And next from Sonora High School Athletic Director Rob Alexander. >> Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. Why do I need that? Oh, there we go. Okay. Hey, thank you. Special thank you to the board and Superintendent McLaughlin and and all the members here. We appreciate your support especially at Sonora High School and the athletic department and what you do for our student athletes. So, thank you again. My name is Rob Alexander. I'm the athletic director of Sonora. I want to introduce first our amazing coach who led our girls wrestling team to the first ever CIF championship, Dave Carazoza. NOT ONLY IS Dave an amazing coach, but he was also our classified employee of the year. So, congratulations to Dave

058and all he does for our students. First up from our boys wrestling team is Tommy Benuelos, senior athlete who helped us win two matches by getting a win with the very last pin of the match. So, congratulations to senior Tommy Benuelos. Areli Gonzalez, Masters qualifier, did a great job and uh I don't I don't think there'd be any doubt if she didn't get hurt during Masters, she would have been a state qualifier. Future's bright for Areli. Senior Kate Lamascus, one of our top wrestlers who did a terrific job, amazing student athlete. And then I have to introduce the birthday girl, Areli Nunez, who is Aliya, I'm sorry, Aliya Nunez, who is only a freshman. And she It's her birthday today, so wish her happy birthday, please. And Aliya came with hardware, the CIF championship. And

059finally, not only our Masters qualifier, but our CIF state qualifier, he's only a sophomore and his name IS GREG RUIZ. OOP. SHOOT. THAT'S ALL WE GOT. Thank you. Hey, and okay. Hey, I just want to tell you again, thank you so much for supporting our athletic department. Let's hear it for our student athletes. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Where is Senora? >> Good job, Rogers. Good job. >> And next from Sunny Hills High School Athletic Director PAUL JONES. >> THANK YOU, SIR. >> HELLO, GOOD EVENING. Uh President Butchie, Dr. McLaughlin, and the board, thank you for having us and for recognizing our student athletes and all of their awesome accomplishments. It's great for us to just have the opportunity to be here to recognize them. Uh up first, we're recognizing uh Sunny Hills Lancers wrestling

060program and we're going to start with Coach Mora who has been coaching the Lancers for the last 3 years. Uh Coach Mora has done a phenomenal job with our wrestling program. He has kind of brought it from the depths. He's been with the program for the last 3 years and so he's been doing an amazing job with our students in growing the program and helping our students get to that next level. And so getting to that next level, uh first we're going to start with the student who's not here tonight, but he has had an amazing career and that is our senior student Gavin Kim. Uh he's in the 126 weight class and he was also a Masters qualifier. He's had a great career, but like I said, he is not here tonight, but uh

061we love what he has done from his freshman year through his senior year. Uh next we're going to recognize Ryken Ramos. So Ryken is a junior and he's a masters qualifier as well in the 165 weight class. And we're extremely proud of Ryken and the just the awesome job that he's done in our wrestling program. Uh we kind of have a a little nucleus or um a pillar, if you will, and these three students have really done a phenomenal job with coach Mora building up our program. And uh that's really centered around Gavin and Ryken. Uh next up is UH JESSALYN DOUCETTE. SO, JESSALYN IS A freshman and so we are extremely excited about her growth and potential. As a freshman to qualify for masters in the 190 weight class is just amazing. So, we're

062extremely excited about uh obviously her the season that she just had, but also about her future. And so, we're really excited to see what happens next year as a sophomore under the tutelage of coach Mora. And so, this is our uh Sunny Hills wrestling program and our masters qualifiers. >> And finally, from Troy High School Athletic DIRECTOR CHRIS BLOOM. ALL RIGHT, WE HAVE MADE IT TO THE END. CONGRATULATIONS. All right, so good evening President Butchie members of the board Dr. McLaughlin. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight and for your continuous support of the athletics all the athletic departments in the Fullerton Joint Union High School District. We're going to recognize a couple of wrestlers tonight. First I want to introduce to you coach Christian Nguyen. Class of the great class of 1994 at

063Troy High School. We had a lot of great people come out of 1994. Christian is one of them. He has led our wrestling program for a number of years and is building our program back up and our numbers are strong and only growing. Wrestlers Miss Abigail Villanueva come on up. So >> [applause and cheering] >> Abigail is a junior entered the season determined to build on her accomplishments from her from last year. She finished eighth last year in CIF. Qualified for the Masters but she set her expectations much higher this year. She improved her CIF performance to fifth place at 130 pounds and capped off the season with an impressive 24 and eight record including 19 pins and three technical falls. So congratulations Abigail. And next is our senior Aiden Pham. He concluded his senior

064season with an impressive 23 and seven record including 10 pins. However he wraps up his high school career as a three-time League champion and CIF qualifier finishing his final season as a fourth place CIF finals and a Masters qualifier. During the 25-26 season Aiden proved his resilience by defeating multiple wrestlers ranked in the top 40 in the state. So both Abigail and Aiden and Christian represent our district and our school well every single match. So thank you to the three of you. >> [applause] [applause] >> President Bushy, thank you. That concludes our report. >> Thank you very much, Dr. Zinner, for managing that. And thank congratulations to all of our athletes. Okay, we're going to take what, 15 minutes? We'll take a 10-minute break. >> Mhm. >> I'd like to call the meeting back to

065order, please. And we are now at item number nine, which is public comments. And I have one blue card from Allen community member. >> Good evening, Board of Trustees, district staff, and members of the public. My name is Allen. I'd like to begin by congratulating Dr. Jang on his years of service and wishing him the best in the next phase. After my February Board meeting public comments, the district through legal counsel sent me a letter stating that I created an undue disruption under board bylaw 9323. In my opinion, the letter does not clearly identify what specific conduct was considered disruptive. And my follow-up request for clarification have gone unanswered. Tonight, I want to address how policies govern public participation are interpreted and how terms such as disruption are applied in practice. Before the start of

066the 6:00 p.m. session, I was told by a district executive that my intended use of an easel and poster board was considered, {quote} disruptive by the board and the superintendent, {unquote}. And that I could be asked to leave if I attempted to use them. That statement was intimidating, and I can only imagine how a student, many of whom present here, would have felt in that situation. Just minutes later, the superintendent provided his expectations on how the easel and poster board could be used, and the meeting proceeded. These conflicting directions within minutes were confusing and concerning. This inconsistency suggests a lack of clarity on how the policy is understood and enforced by district leadership. In a March 12th email, Mark Miller, Executive Human Resources, related to the subject, stated, {quote} I am ready, willing, and able

067to commence the investigation, {unquote}. I hope that investigation provides clarity, not just for me, but for the public. At present, however, it remains unclear how an undue disruption occurred. Board policy defines disruption as conduct during a meeting that actually interrupts or impedes the orderly conduct of a meeting, yet council's letter references interactions that occurred before the meeting. For public benefit, I ask Board President Bucci and the trustees directly, what specific conduct did you determine was undue disruption? And will you clarify this policy so the public understands what is expected? Or will this remain unaddressed, leaving students, parents, staff, and community members subject to inconsistent and arbitrary enforcement? Without clarification, uncertainty remains for anyone who wishes to participate in the process. I respectfully request that this matter be placed on a future agenda for public discussion.

068Thank you. I can be reached at [email protected] for comments or questions. Thank you. >> Okay. All right. Um Superintendent? >> Thank you, Ms. Booshy, members of the board. Just for clarity's sake, um Alan, community member, um in his quote regarding Mr. Miller, I think it's important to contextualize um the statements that are being made for the board and the community uh cuz they seem disjointed. Um Alan, community member, has emailed us uh at least five to 10 times a week regarding various things. Um the interpretation of the message tonight was that there is some connection between Mr. Miller's investigation and a previous investigation. I just want to clarify no connection to that investigation. Um so, uh Alan, community member, um your offer still stands to meet with Mr. Miller to move forward in your accusations

069so that we can appropriately investigate your claim. So, whenever you're ready, please work with Mr. Miller on that accusation. It does not uh connect to your previous accusations uh which you state over time and time again at the podium. So, I just want to clarify that for the board and the community cuz it it felt like uh he was making some connections here and uh that's untrue. Thank you. >> Okay, thank you. Okay, that brings us to reports. Uh the first report is general and do you have any documentation for me on that? Okay. Okay, uh general number one is resolution 2025-2026 number 28 an order of biennial trustee election and specification of election order for Orange County. Um And then, should I just do those two together perhaps? >> So, they're you're going to

070read this both and we'll take two separate actions. >> Okay. Okay, I'm going to read the second resolution which is number 29 and that is the order of biennial trustee election and specification election order for Los Angeles County. So, what I'm going to read applies to both Orange County and Los Angeles County. Because Fullerton Joint Union High School District serves students in both Orange County and Los Angeles County, it is necessary that a resolution Excuse me, for a consolidated election be submitted to both counties. Consolidated election is required to be held in the district this year. It will be held on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2026 for members of the govern- governing board in accordance with education code 5340 which reads in part school district governing board or community college district governing board members elections for

071two or more school districts of any type to be held in the same district or area on the same day shall be consolidated so that a person Excuse me, entitled to vote in both or all of such elections may do so at the same time and place using the same ballot. Excuse me. >> [cough and clears throat] >> Okay, so the first resolution is number 28 and that's for the Orange County election. Is there a motion? >> I so I move. >> Moved by Vicky, seconded by. >> I'll second. >> Joanne. Is there any question or clarification? All in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Opposed? Passed 5 to nothing. Okay, the second resolution is number 29 and this is for Los Angeles County. Is there a motion? >> So moved. >> Moved by

072Vicky, seconded by Chester. Any question or comment? All in favor, please say I. >> I. >> And I'm sorry, Ari, would you like to do us a >> I approve. >> Thank you very much. And would that be true? Would you like to vote on both of them? >> Yes. >> Okay, thank you so much. I'm sorry. Oh, good. >> [cough] >> Can't believe it, yeah. All right. So next is um community member agenda item. Did I do something wrong? Okay. Okay. And I do have a blue card for this item and it's the practice that the board member the board would call on anybody before uh an item is uh voted upon. So I have another card from Alan, community member. Oh gosh. Thank you. >> Thank you. Uh good evening again. Uh I

073just wanted to start off by thanking the board for seeing the value uh in putting this item on the agenda. It's much appreciated. Tonight's agenda to consolidate three of my requested items under a single heading, community member agenda items per the superintendent's letter to me last Friday. As a result, I have only just one item this evening and consider the remaining items should not should not be considered resolved. The item is compliance with the Ralph M. Brown Act and public notice of meetings. This matter involves the now defunct Freeway League and is not subject to legal cure. However, recent review by district legal counsel underscores the importance of clarity, transparency, and compliance going forward. The Orange County District Attorney's office actually reviewed the specific situation and stated the following. All league, section, and state meetings

074affiliated with the California Interscholastic Federation must comply with the Brown Act. Compliance with the Brown Act requires proper public notification of meetings. The league president at the time stated that a meeting occurred. However, a California Public Records Act search produced no notice for that required meeting notification. Two district executives referred to the same event as a process in written communications. They are in attendance tonight if they'd like to provide any feedback. Regardless of terminology, league policy did not permit decisions to be made outside of properly noticed meeting. And no notice was ever published. As a district stakeholder, I have two questions for our publicly elected board members. First, will you review the findings of the Orange County District Attorney's office or will you ignore them? I'm happy to provide the supporting documentation at your request.

075Second, will you determine why two district executives characterized this as a process rather than a meeting, whether that distinction and whether that distinction contributes to non-compliance with the Brown Act, or will you allow this to go unaddressed? This review presents an opportunity to clarify expectations for Brown Act compliance and assure that future decision-making processes are transparent, properly noticed, and consistent with the law. Finally, I have submitted documents for the public record, and those have been provided to the to the district. Thank you very much. Yes. May I? >> Thank you, Mr. Dushy, members of the board. I'm going to read a a brief statement regarding clarity on education code and board policy for community member requested items. And then I do want to speak with to the the three topics that Allen community member requested

076to put on the agenda at various stages over the last few months. Education code 35145.5 allows members of the public to place items on the board agenda pursuant to district board policy 9323. Construction of the agenda, members of the public requesting that an item be placed on the agenda must submit the item to the superintendent's office in writing. The superintendent shall determine the characterization of the item, its placement on the agenda, and whether it is within the board's jurisdiction. So, there are three requested items that have been characterized based on my work with our board president from Allen community member, and those topics are independent Brown Act investigation, additional accountability athletic meetings, complaint procedures, and independent investigations. And so, for board consideration tonight is whether to direct staff, therefore me and other staff, to do

077any more work on any of these items that the board should choose us should want us to do based on consensus of the board. And if that is the case, then we would bring back the item for further consideration in a future meeting. Okay? So, wanted just to talk about these items and their characterization. So, independent Brown Act investigation. So, Uh, Allen community member sent a variety of emails to us over the last uh, few years uh, regarding um, his efforts in this uh, to these ends. Um, as he stated the Brown Act is set for transparency uh, so that public can engage uh, public the public can engage in public meetings. Um, our board is governed under the Brown Act. Uh, we comply at all levels of the Brown Act uh, regarding postings, regarding

078minutes, regarding um, information uh, as as such. Um, and so with respect to an independent the Brown Act investigation about our board um, to these at this moment there's been no issues to be addressed. Um, so based on staff recommendation unless the board so chooses we could do that investigation. Uh, Mr. Ulibarri brings up the idea of athletic meetings under the Freeway League and we've clarified with this many times through legal counsel, through other correspondence that any Freeway League meeting that happened which no longer exists happened under the the guy oversight of CIF. And so CIF would be the governing body that would hold the Freeway League um, to uh, the standard of the Brown Act not this board. Um, although the Freeway League was all of our district uh, teams and therefore our sites

079uh, it was outside of this board's purview. So as of right now our teams cuz Freeway League no longer exists thank you CIF. Um, they are in other leagues uh, the board does not govern those leagues and therefore the minutes uh, that are taken, the agendas that are taken, the re- quest for information that is that is requested unless they are housed in uh, our district resources in which case we did turn over any and all items that Allen community member did request over the last 3 years. So those two items with respect to the Brown Act and additional accountability for athletic meetings um, we do host athletic meetings which are athletic director meetings, coaches. Um, that is part of our district operation. There are no minutes taken just as practice and standard for all

080of our meetings, there are agendas. Uh Mr. Uh Dr. Ziner does oversee our athletics and activities, so he works with all the appropriate staff members on there, but there are no minutes to turn over. Um so, if Allen, community member, wanted to pursue uh the minutes regarding Freeway League, uh once again, um we encourage him to uh request those from CIF and work with them. Uh the final one is complaint procedures and independent investigations. So, uh under our board bylaws uh under our Ed Code, um we do have a complaint procedure. Uh there's a link on our website. So, anytime there's a formal complaint that's uh put in, we do a full investigation regarding our district staff, whether if if it's a staff complaint, we have our human resources department. A student complaint, it depends

081on the student issue and we have uh director of student services that sometimes goes and investigates those um to the end. Um from time to time, there's need for an independent investigator, and uh with respects to Allen, community member, uh there was an independent investigator, which he so often reply uh refers to. Uh that investigation uh was done uh in partnership with our attorney and our law firm. It was done outside of any district staff and the board. Uh so, it can be an independent investigator, and it was provided a full summary report uh to the board and district staff. And uh the conclusion of that report we've all seen. So, that is our practice uh to continue to do that. Uh it's our recommendation that we continue in that practice um unless the board

082um would like to direct us to bring forth other information, um bring uh do a deeper investigation, um but at this moment, this item is really for direction from the board. [snorts] Um if the board uh so chose to direct us to do any more work uh than we're already doing around all these items. So, Mrs. Bushy. >> Okay, thank Thank you, Dr. McLaughlin. Based upon what he has just said, is there any of those three items that you feel needs further investigation or explanation that we would could request of the of the district staff. I'm seeing heads saying no. Okay. I guess the consensus is that we are fine where we are. Thank you. >> Thank you, Ms. Bushy. >> Okay, next is item 11 two new basic textbook list revisions addendum one adoption.

083Did you have something for us? >> Yes, I do. >> Do. Thank you. >> Thank you, President Bushy, members of the board. And yes, this evening for second reading and adoption, the math and AP calculus textbooks on the attached list are proposed for addition to the basic textbook list effective for the 2026-2027 school year. The textbooks have been reviewed by teachers and submitted to department leaders for evaluation. The members of the appropriate curriculum committees and administrative council have completed evaluation forms indicating that the books have been properly reviewed. The proposed basic textbooks were presented at the March 11th, 2026 board meeting for first reading and information and have since been on display in the district education and assessment services office for review and comments. To date, no comments have been received. Therefore, it is recommended

084that the math and AP calculus textbooks on the attached list be adopted for the use in the district effective for the 2026-2027 school year. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. Uh is there a motion to adopt? >> Move to adopt. >> Moved by Lauren, seconded by Chester. Any other questions? And I know we appreciate that we had the presentation at the last meeting from the math ptosis. Thank you for that. Any other questions or comments? All in Would you like to I'm sorry. I did Ari, I'm really bad at that. You should sit by me and then you could poke me. >> [laughter] >> The one meeting I missed. >> I know. >> Yes, I approve. >> Thank you. >> Yeah, all in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Oppose, passed five to

085zero. Thank you very much, Dr. Kaufman. Uh, next is uh, human resources, um, declaration of a need for fully qualified educators to authorize the employment of teachers holding emergency permits credentials for the 26-27 school year. Mr. Miller. >> Good evening, Board President Bushy, members of the board and Superintendent McLaughlin. In accordance with Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations Section 80026, school districts are required to annually adopt a declaration of need for fully qualified educators to remain eligible for the issuance of emergency or limited assignment permits. While the district is fully committed to hiring and assigning only appropriately credentialed educators, this declaration serves as a precautionary measure to ensure instructional continuity in the event of an unforeseen staffing shortage. This is a This is a routine item that must be brought to the Board

086of Trustees each each year for approval, and it is recommended that the board approve this item to ensure the district can continue to fill positions under emergency permits if needed. >> Okay, thank you very much. Is there a motion to approve the declaration of need? Moved by Chester James, seconded by >> Second. >> Lauren. >> Oh. >> No, sorry. >> She didn't say it, you just raised your hand. >> [laughter] >> Any other questions or comments regarding this item? Ari, would you like to cast your vote? >> I approve. >> Oh, good, I got it this time. All in favor, [laughter] please say I. >> I. >> Oppose, passed five to zero. Thank you very much. Okay, next is business services, and I hope you haven't been here the whole time. >> [laughter] >> Uh,

087this is uh, bond resolution uh, 26 and 27 authorizing the issuance and sale of the district's general obligation bonds election of 2024, series B 2026 in an amount not to exceed 82 million, and measure I series A 2015 refunding. So, please come forward. I think you'll have something for us. >> Thank you. What do you do? Just sorry. >> Thank you and good evening, President Bushi, members of the board, and Dr. McLaughlin. I'd like to introduce Mr. Jason Chung, vice president at Fieldman Rolapp & Associates, who'll be joining us this evening to provide us an overview of Measure L series B drawdown. Mr. Chung has brings expert and extensive experience in public finance and has worked closely with our district and across the state of California on bond programs, financial planning, and debt issuance strategies.

088His expertise has been instrumental in helping our district effectively manage bond proceeds while maintaining strong fiscal stewardship and transparency. This evening, Mr. Chung will walk us through the current status of Measure L, the drawdown process, and key considerations as we continue to implement projects under our bond program. Mr. Chung. >> Great. Thank you, Mr. Hennis, for that nice introduction. And it's great to see you this evening, board members. And if you recall, about this time last year, the district undertook the first bond draw of Measure L for 120 million, which went great. You've obviously done a very good job spending that money down, which the IRS likes to see. And after talking with Ruben, it sounds like you do have need for a potentially 82 million more of projects. In addition to that, you also

089have a potential refinancing opportunity. And this would lower tax rates and lower interest costs for your taxpayers on bonds related to your previous Measure I that was approved back in 2014. And so, by doing these two transactions together, you do obtain a lot of cost efficiencies by doing so. There's a number of fixed costs that come with doing a transaction, including my firm and also your legal counsel. But by combining the two together, you actually get more economies of scale. And you did this most recently in 2020 as well. And so, I'll continue on with a market update. And there's certainly been no shortage of headline news in the past month. but it's first good to get a long-term perspective of where rates are. On the left chart, we show both the 10-year and 30-year

090municipal rate dating back to 2016. It's about 10 years ago. And the district has sold numerous bonds during this time. I think you've sold bonds every year from 2017 through 2021. And you can see rates were extremely competitive during that time, reaching their all-time historical lows in 2021. And as you move right and get closer to present day, we've seen those rates on the right um climb higher. And so, you might ask now is a good time to be just selling bonds today when the 30-year rate is at about 4.3% today. Well, um the chart on the right helps provide more perspective. The blue bars show both the lowest and highest ranges for each maturity over the past 20-plus years since 2005. So, for example, when you look at the 30-year rate on the far

091right of that right chart, it's been as low as 1.3% at one point in time. And that was in the height of the pandemic in 2021. But that 30-year rate has also been as high as 6%. And that was during the Great Recession. And so, um and the green horizontal line on that graph is where rates were as of April 8th last week. And so, the 30-year rate today is at 4.31. So, we're not at the lows we saw back in 2021, and we will likely won't see those type of low rates for the near foreseeable future. Um but we're also not near the high point at 6%. So, we're about we're at about the mid-range if you can see where that green horizontal line is in relation to the chart. >> [snorts] >> So,

092right about the mid-range of each maturity years 1 through 30. So, definitely still a decent time to be looking at selling bonds, especially when you have project need for that. Oh, and then we definitely saw rates become more volatile in March with the Iran war, but ever since the two-week ceasefire um was announced, markets have been reacting positively. Um sorry, I think I lost the slide. But um market has been um um improving a little bit each day and so the stock market actually had quite a strong rebound today. I think people were very optimistic about a potential peace deal coming together with the US naval blockade. We'll see how that turns out, but we do know that these interest rates can change every day day-to-day by just a single tweet or a post. So

093our recommendation for the board is to approve both of these financings tonight and that allows us to lock in your rates as early as next week April 2020 April 22. So no matter what happens after April 22, let's say oil per barrel goes to $150 or $200, your rates are still locked in no matter on April 22nd no matter what happens in the economy after that. And so by approving tonight that gives us authorization to move forward with these financings under the parameters set forth in the resolution. I messed up the slides again. Sorry Ruben. Great. Here's the district's historical assessed value since 1997 and this is your taxable value of property and that's again typically much lower than market value. In recent years your district has grown very well even averaging your annual growth

094rate for the past 30 years is above 4.5% when we sold series A bonds last year. We projected no more than 4% growth each year. And so we see that when those bonds were sold you actually had a nice pop and increase in 25 and fiscal 26 is about 3.49% and so a little bit lower than our projections. However, we were still you you averaged more than the 4% in that first year. So you on average you've exceeded that. We want to be even more conservative when we sell these series series B bonds. So for the next sale we're projecting 3% growth next year, 3 and 1/2% growth in fiscal 28 and then back to the 4% overall because we believe over for long term your your district will perform closer to that 4 and

0951/2% average. And that just helps ensure tax rates in your community don't go above what we promised the voters, which is $21 per 100,000 for Measure L. And this shows all of your bond issues that are currently being repaid by taxpayers totaling that $285 million amount. On the right are the optional call dates, and these are the earliest dates when you can refinance the bonds to provide taxpayer savings. Uh we've highlighted the green bars green bonds in red in in green, the 2015 A bonds, and those are the bonds that we are looking to refinance potentially next week as that is callable or also known as refundable on any date at a at par value. The next ones coming up are your 2017 B, 2018 C, and 2019 D bonds from Measure I from your

0962014 measure, and those are all callable around late 2027, early 2028. And so it's possible a year and a half from now, um I'm myself or Adam will be right before this board again, um looking providing you a potential refinancing refinancing opportunity to do up to three total series of bonds, and that could be a larger savings cuz we're only looking at just the one series this time. And here is a summary of the potential refinancing of those bonds. And so when re- refinancing municipal bonds again, we cannot extend past the original final maturity. And so unlike when you're refinancing a home mortgage and get a new 30-year rate, we have to keep that final payment year, which is in year 2040. So we only need to use a 14-year borrowing program. So 2040 subtracted

097by 2026. And in your refunding bond resolution, even if you approve the item tonight, we also have certain parameters that we as the financial advisor need to meet in order to move forward with the sale. The most important is that we have to accomplish at least a net present value savings of 3%. Um and that's not 2.95, that's not 2.99. It's at minimum 3% of the bonds refunded. And 3% is the industry minimum standard that an issuer should achieve to do a refinancing. And so that to help provide that in dollar amounts, when you look at that chart, starting from the back left, when I first looked at this transaction, uh total savings were about 1 and 1/2 million gross. When you discount that in today's dollars, that was about 1.2 million dollars for the

098taxpayers. To get the 4.37% you take the 1.2 million divided by the amount of bonds we're refunding, which is about 26 million. So, 4.37% was where we started at. February 19th, that's when the rates actually hit their lowest over the past month. The net present value jumps to 5.5%. That's when I called Rumen and said, "Hey, we really need to take serious consideration on moving forward." We all know what happened end of February and into March, Iran war starts, oil oil exceeds $100 a barrel, the US Treasury rate increases from 2.52 to 3.15%. So, the financing is not looking so great at that point. April 8th, the two-week ceasefire announced, we get more optimism optimism surrounding a potential agreement. So, we've seen the Treasury rate continually gradually lowering over the past few weeks since April

0998th. And now the current savings rate is about 2.37, 2.4%. It's actually a little bit higher cuz on Thursday and Friday last week it's gotten better. So, we're not at the minimum thresholds yet, but we're asking you the board to consider approval tonight because that allows us to getting authorization allows us to enter the market as quickly as possible instead of waiting for your next board meeting cuz these interest rates change day-to-day. So, providing us flexibility to get in the market as quickly as possible allows us to lock in the rates once we hit that least 3% savings. Moving on to measure L, here's the updated projection. Again, this was passed in November 2024 authorizing 284 million at the $21 projected tax rate. And then about 164 million is remaining in authorization. So, we're planning

100to split those up in two series, 82 million this year and then the final 82 million in summer 2029. And those are represented by those purple teal bars on the chart. You've seen we've structured all payments to be under the $21 tax rate through final maturity. And then I'll close with the brief schedule. We We held an updated rating review with Standard & Poor's. Mr. Hernandez did a great job of maintaining your district's strong rating at AA. That is the third highest possible rating. It's above average for a SoCal district in Orange County. Um I think um it's probably if you could relate it to a FICO score score probably in the 730 740. So, you're pretty You're getting gaining access to the most competitive rates almost um in the marketplace. And so again, kudos

101to the district on getting that great rating. And so should the board approve these two resolutions tonight, that would allow us to enter the market as early as April 22nd and then April 6th is when the district would receive its funds. So, I appreciate your time. I know that was a lot, but I'm happy to address any questions you have. >> Yes, so this concludes our presentation. Also with us tonight is um strad straddling um Vanessa Leggett. She's part of legal counsel um and helped prepare our attached resolutions. So, if there's any questions associated with the resolutions, Vanessa's here to help assist Jason and I with any questions the board may have. >> I have a question. So, right now the interest rates are at what and you I know that for the I was

102to set with 20 million, you're going to be investing or we'll go and then the A2 from Measure L. What's the interest rate right now and you would do it in a week? >> Right, in the week. So, the Measure L bond, that would be a brand new bond to provide projects. So, we're looking at a 30-year term. So, in the resolution we've budgeted we've estimated about 4.8%. That That before the two-week ceasefire and before it rates improved. If we sold today, probably getting about 4.55%. And then the refinancing, we need about a average 14-year borrowing cost average about 3%. >> Any other questions or comments? Um I saw Ruben smile when you talked about the rating that we have. >> [laughter] >> Thank you. Uh in the past and I think I heard this

103when the context of your presentation, usually when there's a refunding, it results in some savings for the taxpayers and I expect that I'm hearing the same thing as for this refunding. Which the taxpayers I just love to hear. >> Mhm. That's correct. So the district did refinancing in 2020 and 2021. Collectively, those two refinancings saved about 4 million in interest cost for your taxpayers. This refinancing would save roughly about a million dollars. >> Okay, that's good to Uh and you indicated that um within the next week you're looking at this. I don't Is this such a volatile situation that we're in that you would Would it be better to have a longer time frame or I'm sure you've discussed this with our Mr. Hernandez. >> Definitely. So you're um I think the the one that

104we're monitoring more closely is the refinancing because we really need rates to cooperate in order to reach the 3%. Um given where the new money is, rates are as I showed in the chart, they're in average ranges right now and they're actually going to probably outperform what we projected when we were planning Measure L. When we were planning Measure L, we used very um very conservative rates, higher than normal because of exactly situations like this. We just don't know what the future will entail as far as future wars or economic uncertainties. So um definitely believe we can move forward with the new money sale um next week and that refinancing we will continue to monitor that. If we sense any kind of worrisome or economic news that might indicate it might not make sense, then

105we'll pull it. >> So you have some flexibility of time. Okay, that's [clears throat] great. >> Yeah. >> Okay, thank you. Any other questions? Did you have a comment? >> I just want to ask Mr. Hernandez to clarify the actions. So we're going to take two actions on two different resolutions. >> Dr. Galvin. >> One more question. From 20 from 2026 to 2040, you said there would be a $26 million what? >> That would be the term of the refunding that we're looking at because the the bond that we're looking to refinance ends in 2040. So we're saving interest on years 26 through 2040. >> That would be a 2026 to 2040 savings by 2040. >> Okay, thanks. Good. >> Perfect. So for the board's consideration on the agenda are two resolutions. Resolution number 26

106is measure L series B. And then resolution number 27 is measure I series A from 2015 as a refunding, um, which is what Mr. Chung referenced as we will sit on and wait for the best we can possibly. >> Okay. Okay, thank you very much. Okay, so, um, let's we have well, it'll be two separate actions. So the first one is bond resolution 2526 number 26 and that is relative to measure L. And so I would look for a motion to approve that resolution. >> Move to approve. >> Moved by Chester, seconded and by Vicki. Is there any other questions or comments? Okay, do we need a roll call vote on a resolution? We do not. Okay, Ari, would you like to cast your vote, please? >> I approve. >> Thank you. All in favor,

107please say I. >> I. >> Oppose, pass five to zero. Next we will do resolution 2526 number 27 which is relative to measure I. Is there a motion to approve that resolution? >> Move to approve. >> Moved by Chester, seconded by >> Second. >> Lauren. Uh, any questions or comments? Okay, all in favor Oh, Ari, would you like to vote? >> I approve. >> Thank you, Lauren. >> All in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Opposed, passed five to zero. Okay, thank you very much. All right, that bring That brings us to and thank you very much for coming this evening and that great presentation as always. We appreciate that what you do for us. And thank you, Reuben. Okay, next is administrative services, communications, Dr. Zener. >> Thank you, President Huesca, members of

108the board and Dr. McLaughlin. In the OCDE newsroom, we had two schools, Fullerton Union High School was recently featured in the newsroom highlighting their Stellar Explorers team advancing to the national finals competition. Also, Troy High School cyber team earned the national honors at the Cyber Patriot finals. We're proud to see our students' incredible achievements recognized across the county. Please visit the OCDE newsroom to read these full articles. Our April newsletter went out with a theme inspired by community. It highlights our strong partnerships and support from our community including Measure L. We've also highlighted our community connections, included very special and touching video featuring the KM Legacy Foundation at Fullerton High School that shows how our community comes together. Additionally, we recognized Sunny Hills High School and Troy High School as 2026 California Distinguished Schools and

109shared important information about the upcoming CASP testing window. In the social media world, we're having some fun with throwbacks highlighting the past five years of themes across our district. It's been incredible to look back all the way to making meaningful connections to together we are FJUHSD, FJUHSD is the place to be, uniting communities, engaging minds and building futures, and this year inspired. We're already at hard work working on the 2026-2027 theme. Be sure to check out our social media channels for throwback clips, highlights in celebration of what makes our district so special. And as you heard earlier, this is Ari's next to last board meeting and on April 30th, we will be interviewing for her successor and in the May board meeting we will be saying goodbye and thanking Ari and welcoming our next student

110board member. And finally some awareness days for the month of April. It is school library month. It was World Health Day on April 7th. Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day. It is Admin Professional Week April 19th through April 25th. It is Public School Volunteer Week from April 20th to April 24th and it is School Nutrition Employee Week at the end of the month. And finally, we would like to thank you Dr. Jane for your service to our district and everything you've done for our staff and students. You will be missed. Thank you and that concludes my report. >> Thank you very much, Dr. Steiner. Any comments, Dr. Steiner? >> You know, every You don't put everything I see on social media and do the schools the schools do too. I mean, there's You You do a

111lot. It's a team. Okay. It's so much fun and I try to figure out where it came from. >> [laughter] >> That's great. Yeah, thank you so much. We get a lot of good publicity. All right, that brings us to the consent calendar. Any item that any board member would like to have removed for separate consideration or action? All right, seeing none, I would look for a motion to approve consent. Move by Chester. Chester, that's your last vote. >> [laughter] >> Is there a second? >> I second. >> Joanne seconded. Ari, would you like to vote, please? >> I approve. >> Okay. All in favor, please say I. I. Oppose pass pass five to zero. All right, that brings us to um [clears throat] board member superintendent comments. Any comments? >> I do have a

112comment. Um it's a kind of like a statement to our employees. Um now, dear Fullerton Joint Union High School District family, as I prepare to step away from the board of trustees after 8 years, this is not easy for me to say. It is difficult to put it into words that this district and all of you have meant to me. FJUHSD is more than a district. It is a family. I felt that in every interaction, every conversation, and every moment we have shared together. I want to express my deepest gratitude not only to our incredible teachers and administrators, but also to our classified staff who so often work behind the scenes and are absolutely essential to everything we do. From our office staff and custodian team to our food servers, mainte- maintenance crew, bus drivers,

113and support personnel, you are the foundation that keeps this district running every single day. Your dedication, care, and quiet strength do not go unnoticed. You are just as much the heart of this district as anyone standing in front of the classroom. Over the years, I have witnessed firsthand the compassion, resilience, the unwavering commitment that defines this Fullerton Joint Union High School District family. Whether we are navigating the uncertainties of COVID-19, supporting students through challenges, or celebrating their success, you always showed up with heart, with purpose, and with deep belief in the power of education. Because of you, we have not only persevere, we have grown stronger together. What has impacted me the most is not just what we have accomplished, but how we have done it. You have led with kindness, collaboration, and a genuine

114care for one another. You have taught me what it truly means to serve a community. You have shown me that education is not just about curriculum or outcome. It is about people, relationships, and the lives that we touch along the way. As I depart for the next stage of my life in full-time academia, I do not leave empty-handed. I take with me the lessons that each one of you have taught me. I take with me your passion for education, your commitment to others, and the care that you have so generously shown not only to our students, but to me as well. These lessons will stay with me in everything I do moving forward. On a personal note, I will forever be grateful for what this district has given to my family. Watching my son grow,

115graduate from Sonora High School, pursue his next chapter in in life through ROTC at Princeton has been incredibly meaningful. Along the way, he was fortunate to have the opportunities, including admission to other outstanding institutions, other Ivy Leagues and West Point, that those doors were open because of the foundation, mentorship, and the encouragement he received from so many of you. That journey is a reflection of the impact you have on our students every single day. As I step away, I do so with a full heart. I am proud of what we have built together, but even more than that, I'm grateful to have been part of this family. I have complete confidence that Fullerton Joint Union High School District will continue to thrive because of the excellent ordinary people who make it what it is today.

116Thank you for your dedication. Thank you for your kindness. For your sacrifices and your unwavering commitment to our students and to each other. It has been an honor to serve with you and beside you and it's a lifetime of experience and I am grateful to all of you. Thank you. >> Thank you, Chester. I think you're the email king and I I think you have all of our emails and we hope that you will keep in touch and let us know how your life is going, your job is going and your family is going and we we will miss you. Thank you. With that, any comments, Mr. Superintendent? Okay, with that the meeting is adjourned.